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Electronic health records (EHR) use has steadily increased among office-based physicians since the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, but new studies indicate that the number of physicians who don’t or plan to participate is substantial.

The delay of the ICD-10 conversion gave many private practices-and their EHR and practicemanagement vendors-the time they needed to prepare for ICD-10. However, industry experts fearthat many vendors aren’t going to make the postponed deadline. And there is no reason to think theOctober 2015 deadline will be pushed back.

As of November 1, 2014, only 2% of eligible professionals had attested to Meaningful Use 2. This is not good news for thethousands of independent physician practices that rely on Medicare payments: the Center for Medicare Services is slated to handout 1% penalties this year for MU2 slackers

Here are seven strategies your practice can use to make sure you meet all the requirements of the MU program should the auditors come calling, and ensure you can keep the incentive money you earned.

MU2: Mission Impossible

Many physicians feel they're between a rock and a hard place. If they're participating in the Medicare side of the Meaningful Use program, have attested before, and don't attest to MU2 this year, they'll not only lose financial incentives but will be subject to penalties in 2017.

Why upgrading the workflows of your front desk, clinical practice and administrative functions are necessary to improve efficiency and gain time

Beginning January 1, 2015, medical practices can, for the first time, bill Medicare for the non face-to-face time spent managing care for patients with multiple chronic diseases. But doing so may prove challenging for many practices, at least at first.

With the addition of EHRs and patient portals, many practices today are better positioned to incorporate modern processes and procedures to manage their accounts receivables more effectively, particularly by improving collections from patients.

The AMA, along with many regional medical societies, is urging Congress to include another ICD-10 implementation delay to a stalled appropriations bill during the current lame duck session.