Tuesday, January 3, 2012 was the one-year anniversary of the start of registration for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs.  Over the past year, there has been a tremendous amount of interest in the incentive programs as providers across the country have implemented EHRs.  Year-one highlights include:

• 43 states have started their Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
• More than 176,000 people have registered for the Medicare and/or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
• More $2.5 billion has been paid in incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) across the country

1. An Introduction to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for Eligible Professionals – This interactive guide walks EPs through every aspect of the Medicare program, and provides helpful resources and tips along the way.
2. Updated User Guides – CMS has updated the registration and attestation user guides, which direct EPs and eligible hospitals through the CMS registration and attestation system.  There are five guides that can be downloaded from the Educational Materials page of the EHR Web site.
3. Provider Testimonial Videos – These videos, which can be found on the , highlight providers’ experiences participating in the EHR Incentive Programs.

Remember that 2012 is the last year in which EPs can receive a full incentive payment in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program; beginning in 2013, EPs will receive a smaller overall total payment.​