Government auditors see room to improve EHR program oversight

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has begun looking for ways to collect more data from Medicare providers to verify that they meet the federal electronic health-record incentive program's requirements, according to a recent audit.

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office on changes needed in the CMS' EHR incentive program, which is providing $30 billion to encourage providers to adopt digital patient data systems, urged various reforms. The agency agreed to the GAO's recommendation that it should collect at least as much information from Medicare providers participating in the program as it does from Medicaid providers in verifying that the providers meet program requirements. The agency "will evaluate the feasibility of conducting additional prepayment verifications under the Medicare EHR program," wrote Linda Kohn, director of healthcare for the GAO and the report's author.