President Obama signed into law legislation that allows physicians who treat patients in hospital-based outpatient clinics to be eligible for incentive payments under the HITECH Act.
By modifying the definition of hospital-based physician, the administration will enable many more physicians to become meaningful users of electronic health records.
The law signed April 15 removes the word "outpatient" from the description of the hospital-based "setting (whether inpatient or outpatient)" and replaces it with "inpatient or emergency room setting." The change becomes "effective as if included in the enactment of the HITECH Act."
Previously, physicians working in hospital environments were not eligible for the incentives because the HITECH Act said they depend "substantially" on a hospital's "facilities and equipment, including qualified electronic health records."
The law --H.R. 4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010 -- also extended unemployment compensation to those who have lost jobs in the difficult economy and postponed from April until June a pay cut to Medicare physicians, according to a White House statement.
More details are online.
