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I got the following email from an EMR vendor that highlights a number of interesting things about what it’s like for customers interacting with their EMR vendor. It’s very much in line with the experiences I’ve seen and heard. I’ve removed the specific EMR vendor names since the names don’t matter as much as the general experience. Instead I’ve used “small EMR vendor” and “large EMR vendor” and “ePrescribing solution.”

I was looking for an ePrescribe solution to interface to our small EMR vendor about a year ago and settled on using ePrescribing solution. As you probably know, they bailed out of the business and sold their service to large EMR vendor. Now we’ve interfaced our product with theirs.

The thing that makes me chuckle is my clients beat me up all the time on saving “clicks” and yet they don’t say a negative thing about the steps associated with large EMR vendor. I guess its because they know I have control over my product and they realize there is zero from the large EMR vendor.

As an observation, questions and low-level technical support was very, very good from the old ePrescribing solution. It appears to be non-existent with large EMR vendor – maybe because they’re busy dealing with so many conversions from the purchased ePrescribing solution? Don’t know. I also know from first-hand experience that support is rather poor with large EMR vendor.

One of my readers pointed me to an article talking about the potential Medicare penalties that will be enforced starting in 2012 to physicians who don’t use e-Prescribing. Here’s the relevant info:

As previously reported, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) authorizes incentive payments for eligible professionals who are successful e-prescribers. Under the MIPPA, the incentive payments are set at 2 percent for 2009 and 2010, 1 percent for 2011 and 2012, and 0.5 percent for 2013.

However, the MIPPA provides for a penalty to arise in 2012 for not successfully satisfying e-prescribing requirements. The penalty will be a percentage reduction in Medicare physician fee schedule payments equal to 1 percent for 2012, 1.5 percent for 2013, and 2 percent for 2014 and subsequent years.

It’s interesting to see these penalties. They’re almost as large as the penalties for not showing meaningful use of a certified EHR. Yet, I see so little discussion about these penalties. Is there a reason doctors aren’t worried as much about this as the EMR Stimulus Medicare penalties?

Also, it’s no wonder that many doctors are wondering whether they should continue to accept Medicare or not. First, the 21% Medicare cuts that have been floating out there. Second, the EMR stimulus medicare cuts. Now, the cuts for those that aren’t ePrescribing. Of course, all of these cuts are to the “insurance” that has in general the smallest reimbursement already. Are the insurance companies next to implement these cuts?