Louisiana Medicaid to host electronic health record vendor fair

In an effort to help Louisiana Medicaid practitioners adopt electronic health records (EHR), the Louisiana Department of Health will host an EHR vendor and clearinghouse vendor fair Wednesday, October 26, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Room 118 of the Bienville building located at 628 North 4th Street in downtown Baton Rouge.

The fair will provide an open forum for providers to learn about available EHR and clearinghouse technology, as well as the EHR Incentive Payment Program. Providers may attend any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The Louisiana Department of Health estimates that only 30 percent of eligible Medicaid providers have adopted certified electronic health record technology.

Since January 2011, Louisiana Medicaid providers have had the opportunity to participate in the EHR Incentive Program and earn up to $63,750 in incentive payments over a six-year period. Since that time, more than 100 eligible hospitals and nearly 2,500 eligible medical professionals have received more than $250 million in incentive payments from the federal government.

The EHR program is funded by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) through 2021, but eligible providers MUST begin participating by December 31, 2016 if they are interested in receiving annual incentive payments in the future. After December 31, 2016, providers can no longer apply for these financial incentives.

Dr. Rebekah Gee, secretary of the Department of Health, said, “Increasing the statewide adoption of EHR technology is a critical step as the agency expands Medicaid to ensure that our providers have the right tools to coordinate care.”

Dr. SreyRam Kuy, Medicaid chief medical officer, added that EHR technology benefits both the patient and provider through cost savings and improved care coordination, diagnostics and patient outcomes.

“For example, instead of relying on paper records and a patient’s memory to provide a list of current medications, a physician can simply take a quick look at the patient’s electronic record and see exactly what medications were prescribed and filled,”  Dr. Kuy explained.

LDH does not endorse any particular vendors.

All EHR vendors are required to be preregistered for the event and providers interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP (for the purpose of receiving time change notifications, parking information, etc.) to Destiny.Rohmfeld@la.gov or 225-342-7738.

The Louisiana Department of Health strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state residents. To learn more about LDH, visit www.ldh.la.gov. For up-to-date health information, news and emergency updates, follow LDH's Twitter account and Facebook.