The government prepares to trade its eprescribing carrot for a stick

So far, the government's attempts to move physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to EHR systems have been positive monetary incentives. Not every provider feels that the incentives (and the reporting requirements surrounding them) are worth the headache of EHR implementation, but the government is getting ready to trade its incentive carrots for penalty sticks.

Penalties have long been a part of the legislation on this topic, but they were always eventual penalties to be levied in the future. These days, the future is fast approaching.

The penalties themselves won't be payable until 2012 and 2013, but they will be levied in part based on what happens this year -- in 2011. If docs don't use electronic prescribing at all this year, they're liable to be dinged for the next two years. And the longer they wait, the tougher the requirements get, and the harder it is to get out of the penalty box.

The upshot is that EHR vendors need to be offering their customers full-service eprescribing systems. Otherwise they're leaving money on the table and exposing their customers to possible penalties over the next several years. If you're having difficulty building your eprescribing system or getting it certified, this is the time to seriously consider a standalone module like DoseSpot that can help you get certified faster and give your customers the functionality they need and expect.