The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the portal Monday that enables hospitals and eligible professionals to attest to meeting Stage 1 meaningful use criteria.

On its website, CMS urges users to register through the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Registration and Attestation System portal as soon as possible.

Registration for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, which is voluntary state by state, began today as well. However, professionals in California, Missouri and North Dakota will only be able to register in February 2011, with some other states launching their Medicaid EHR programs in the spring and summer of this year.

An obstacle of Stage 1 meaningful use criteria commonly cited by physicians is the implementation and use of computerized physician order entry systems for 30 percent of all medicine orders. According to the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society's 2010 statistics, less than 18 percent of U.S. hospitals and health systems have adopted CPOE so far. CMS urges users to register for the program even if they don't have a certified EHR.

Despite the challenges, health care IT vendors recognized facilities that are on the forefront of investing in IT infrastructure that enhances health care delivery.

"In the month of January, there will be a significant focus placed on the entities that are registering for the program and starting their EHR reporting period, but ultimately, all providers treating patients covered by Medicare will need to register," John Glaser, CEO of the health services business unit of Siemens Healthcare, said in prepared remarks. "It is important to note that this process is still new and, in many cases, it will be months before CMS determinations of actual meaningful users are revealed and facilities begin to see incentive payments. No matter what the outcome, we applaud those who are willing to publicly acknowledge their commitment to the betterment of patient care through their innovative use of health IT."

For more information on registration, requirements and eligibility, visit CMS' EHR Incentive Program page at http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/

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