BHS to be part of national Medicare project

Baptist Health System’s (BHS) Baptist Health Centers, the largest primary care physician network in the state, will participate in a five-year Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services project aimed at improving the quality of patient care. Alabama, which included the Birmingham-based health system in its application, was selected as one of 12 communities from a field of more than 30 applicants nationwide.

"I think our inclusion is a testament to our continued strength and history as a provider of vital health-care services and reflects our continuing commitment to better serve our patients," said BHS President and Chief Executive Officer Shane Spees. "We are happy to participate in a project that could ultimately have such great benefits for Alabamians."

Through the project, incentive payments will be provided to physicians for using certified electronic health records (EHR).

"The use of electronic health records, and of health information technology as a whole, has the ability to transform the way health care is delivered in our nation," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "We believe that EHRs can help physicians deliver better, more efficient care for their patients, in part by reducing medical errors. This project is designed to demonstrate these benefits and help increase the use of this technology in practices where adoption has been the slowest — at the individual physician and small practice level."

The project will be implemented in two phases with BHS participating in Phase II, which begins June 2009. The EHR demonstration project is an important step toward President Bush’s goal of most Americans having a secure, interoperable electronic health record by 2014. (BHS)