The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed by President Obama, aimed to stimulate the economy with a $789 billion package, emphasizing electronic health records initiation, electronic prescribing, and ICD-10 codes. Eligible hospitals can receive up to $2,000,000 in payments over four years, while physicians earn decreasing incentives for meaningful use of electronic health records. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) supports these initiatives but involves significant costs for implementation and training.

1. Write a response to each discussion
Taylor 10.1
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also
known as (ARRA) signed into law by President Barack Obama
on February 17, 2009. It was created to provide a stimulus to
the US economy in the wake of the economic downturn. The
incentives were 1. electronic health records initiation, 2.
electronic prescribing program, and 4. ICD-10 codes Baker &
Baker (2014). Eligible hospitals may receive a $2,000,000 base
amount payment and related payments that span over a 4-year
period. If a hospital did not adopt by 2015, it faced a penalty.
The physician incentive includes a maximum payment in year 1,
then decreasing by a percentage every year thereafter.
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Pick 10.1
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was
created in 2009 as a $789 billion stimulus package to create and
save jobs (Steinbrook, 2009). ARRA
has three adoption expectations: electronic health records
initiation, electronic prescribing program, and ICD-10 codes.
An eligible hospital can receive a $2,000,000 base amount
payment plus discharge-related payments that span a four-year
period (Baker &
Baker, 2014). Each physician can also receive incentives, but
they must be a “meaningful user”. The maximum amount a
physician can receive decreases each year so the sooner the
physician becomes a meaningful EHR user the more money they
receive (Steinbrook, 2009).

2. For healthcare, the ARRA created the Health Information
Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH).
When my organization implemented the HIT, there are a lot of
costs associated with it. The were the initial cost of
implementation to purchase the program, hiring and training of
IT employees as well as training of staff. While there were
incentives to implement the HIT as well as cost reductions in
other areas, the overall cost was greater. There are other
incentives to implementation that just cost though.
Heard 10.1
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Under the Medicare program eligible hospitals receive
payments. The incentive payments are based upon hospital
services and are given the hospital and their physicians must be
a "meaningful electronic health records (EHR) user" (Baker,
2014). Incorporating this system will require staff training and
new equipment.
There are three adoption deadlines for electronic health records:
- Electronic health records initiated by the HITECH Act
initiative
- Electronic prescribing (eRx) program
- ICD – 10 Codes
Hospital incentives include eligibility for a $2,000,000 base
payment, while physician incentives are based on the
determination of services rendered and these hospital Medicare
program incentive payments span a four-year period.
The HITECH program provides approximately 17 billion dollars
in incentive monies for hospitals and physicians. Under HIT,
specifically, health care professionals must adopt a certified
EHR and use it to achieve objectives to quality for Medicare
and Medicaid incentive programs. CMS regulates the
meaningful use objectives.
Arias 10.1

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Under the Medicare program eligible hospitals receive
payments. The incentive payments are based upon hospital
services and are given the hospital and their physicians must be
a "meaningful electronic health records (EHR) user".
According to Baker & Baker (2014), an eligible hospital may
receive a payment of $2,000,000 and these hospital Medicare
program incentive payments span a four year period.
Implementing HIT in healthcare organizations may have its
benefits, but it will require time and expenses. Incorporating
this system will require staff training and new equipment.
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