The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Monday that Maryland’s Medicaid program will receive approximately $1.37 million in federal matching funds for state planning activities necessary to adopt the electronic health record incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.According to CMS, EHRs will improve the quality of health care for the citizens of Maryland and make their care more efficient. The records will also make it easier for providers who may be treating a Medicaid patient to coordinate care. In addition, EHRs facilitate the process for patients to access the information they need to make decisions about their healthcare.
“We congratulate Maryland for qualifying for these federal matching funds to assist its plan for implementing the Recovery Act’s EHR incentive program,” said Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at CMS. “Meaningful and interoperable use of EHRs in Medicaid will increase healthcare efficiency, reduce medical errors and improve quality-outcomes and patient satisfaction within and across the states.”
Maryland will use the funds for planning activities that include conducting a comprehensive analysis to determine the current status of HIT activities in the state. As part of that process, Maryland will collect information on issues such as existing barriers to its use of EHRs, provider eligibility for EHR incentive payments, and the establishment of a State Medicaid HIT Plan.
