Louisiana Initiatives Encourage Adoption Of Health Information Technology

Louisiana's health information technology efforts have given the state several advantages in applying for a CMS grant program, CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems said on Monday, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. Under the pilot program, physicians who adopt electronic health records and perform highly on quality measures can earn a Medicare bonus of as much as $58,000 over five years, with a practice maximum of $290,000 over the five-year period, according to Weems.

Louisiana's advantages include:
A regional health information exchange, a network that allows physicians to access patients' electronic health records;

A chartered value exchange, a collaborative effort by health plans, employers, providers and consumers to encourage health IT adoption, and provider price and quality data; and

State funding for health IT projects.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (D) has proposed spending $18.6 million on health IT projects next year. Under Jindal's proposed fiscal year 2009 state budget, $11.1 million would be allocated to the Louisiana Rural Health Information Exchange, which would help rural hospitals acquire digital technology for electronic communication. In addition, the budget plan includes $4 million for further development of the Louisiana Health Information Exchange and $3.5 million to provide financial incentives for physicians who use interoperable EHR software (Griggs, Baton Rouge Advocate, 3/11).


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