Medical Malpractice Insurance Incentives for Implementing EHR

Welcome to your next issue of the Sage Software eBrief, an update on the latest news, product developments, and tips for bringing your practice into the future with healthcare software. In this issue, we’ll discuss a recent trend among medical malpractice insurance providers—discount incentives for implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR).

A New Trend Creates New Return on Investment Opportunity
In January 2007, a new malpractice premium credit for the use of EHRs was launched for physicians in Massachusetts. This new credit program offered by Connecticut Medical Insurance Company (CMIC) is part of a joint initiative with the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC), the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) and PIAM. The EHR credit being offered is 5%.

This is just one of many new incentive programs being offered by medical malpractice insurance providers. Most require the practice to meet certain requirements such as use of an approved EHR and minimum usage requirements or length of implementation. Many other malpractice insurance companies around the country are also offering incentives ranging from two to five percent.

The four states with the highest liability rates for OB/GYN are: *

  • Florida: $299,420
  • Illinois: $266,349
  • Ohio: $187,858
  • Connecticut: $170,048

A 2% premium discount would equate to $5,988.40 per provider per year in FL and $3,400.96 per provider per year in Connecticut.

In a recent discussion with Madonna Dearie, office manager at Cottonwood Medical Center, she discussed how Intergy EHR by Sage has helped them to reduce their malpractice insurance. They worked with their insurance carrier to look at many areas where they could implement new tools or systems to help reduce this significant practice cost. As part of a range of changes they made, use of the EHR assisted in lowering their malpractice insurance.

Intergy EHR by Sage Can Help
As part of the fully integrated suite of solutions from Sage Software, Intergy EHR provides the basic tools to help you achieve the requirements of many of these malpractice insurance discounts.

  • Intergy EHR is CCHIT CertifiedSM and meets CCHIT ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) criteria for 2006.
  • Sage Software utilizes a tested process to implement our EHR solutions to help ensure full implementation and maximum utilization of these systems.
  • Our training and support resources assist you in getting your entire staff up to speed and effectively using Intergy EHR to streamline their workflow.

Ready to Get Started?
Your Sales Representative can provide a comprehensive on-site demonstration of the Intergy suite of products, including Intergy EHR, or you can view an online demonstration of Intergy EHR right now!

To learn more about how Intergy by Sage can support and transform the way you work please:

Best regards,
Sage Software

Source: 2005 survey of 45 insurance companies by Medical Liability Monitor and published in the August 1, 2006, Ob/Gyn News.

CCHIT CertifiedSM is a service mark of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.