California- EMR Requirements & Incentives | MedicalRecords.com

Program Start Date: September 2011
Website: medi-cal.ehr.ca.gov/
Contact Email: medi-cal.ehr@dhcs.ca.gov

Program Information:
Medi-Cal is able to offer eligible practitioners and hospitals substantial financial incentives to adopt, implement and upgrade electronic health records, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, beginning of 2011. Practitioners and hospitals are required to first register for the program through CMS in order to receive incentive payments. This will also be available for the “meaningful use” of electronic health records by practitioners (over 6 years) and hospitals (over 4 years). The next step is to register with the state-level registry through the state’s portal. This portal also provides links to valuable resources for practitioners and hospitals planning EHR implementation and other health information technology efforts.