All Medicare providers (e.g. physicians, NPs, PAs, etc.) are eligible to earn a 1 percent incentive on their total Medicare Part B allowed charges by electronically prescribing a total of 25 times from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2011 and having at least 10 percent of their total Medicare Part B charges made up of denominator codes.

Additionally, providers who want to avoid a 1 percent penalty in 2012 must report an e-prescribing measure through their claims at least 10 times between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2011. Furthermore, providers who successfully report the e-prescribing measure in 2011 will also be exempt from a 1.5 percent penalty in 2013. CMS requires that this submission be performed through claims; providers are not allowed to use a registry or electronic health record (EHR) to avoid the penalty in 2012.

If you plan to participate in the EHR incentive program in 2011, you will not be eligible to collect the 1 percent e-prescribing bonus. CMS does not allow physicians to collect both bonuses. However, since NPs and PAs are not eligible for the Medicare EHR incentive program, they can continue collecting the e-prescribing bonus.

Clearly practicing medicine will continue to be more complex over time. If your wondering if there are better practice opportunities that fit your unique needs in these complex times reply deroode@integrohealt​hcare.org.

To relieve the complexity, many physicians are eliminating Cecil, Harrison, and our other Hippocrates Modern Colleague, and just subscribing to the Medicare Newsletters which will guide and direct you to do the best practices for remuneration and not be influence by using the Best Practices Cecil, Harrison and their Kin.

Del Meyer, MD