OntarioMD is pleased to announce that the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Adoption Program has been extended for one year, to March 2015.
The EMR Adoption Program, which started April 2005, has funded over 10,000 community physicians. To date, over 75% of eligible community family physicians and 50% of community specialists are adopting or using an EMR to enhance patient care. Dr. Rick Tytus, OntarioMD Board Chair says, "EMR adoption in Ontario, funded by eHealth Ontario, has been very successful with EMRs quickly becoming a standard of practice. Physicians are well-positioned to take advantage of the changing eHealth landscape".
New EMR Adoption Funding
The year-long extension to the program, effective April 1, 2014, provides limited funding for an additional 760 physicians and will focus on community specialists and family physicians who have not participated to date.
Total funding for an eligible physician remains the same as the current program at up to $27,100 for a Funding Eligible Local EMR or up to $29,800 for an Application Service Provider (ASP) EMR offering. However, a participating physician must implement their EMR within ten months of signing the Funding Agreement and submit a Performance Declaration and an EMR Use Survey within 22 months of signing the Funding Agreement to receive the full funding amount.
EMR Enhanced Use Program
The one-year program extension also includes funding from the EMR Enhanced Use Program, which replaces the current EMR Upgrade Program. It provides a subsidy of $400 per month for physicians to keep their EMR to the latest EMR Specification and use and connect to the latest functionality, e.g., the Ontario Laboratories Information System and regional hospital report solutions. The Program maintains the additional $75 per month per physician subsidy for a second network circuit for ASP users.
Now that most community physicians have chosen to adopt an EMR, OntarioMD will be focusing its efforts on supporting physicians to optimize the use of their EMRs and realize more benefits for their patients and their practices. OntarioMD is connecting physicians' EMRs to Hospital Report Manager (HRM), the provincial system which transmits patient hospital reports electronically directly into EMRs. OntarioMD is also collaborating with eHealth Ontario to move physicians from regional hospital report solutions to HRM.
Full details of the new program's terms and conditions, and how to apply will be available in the new year on OntarioMD's EMR Funding page. In the meantime, new applicants can contact OntarioMD at emrfunding@ontariomd.com or by calling 1-866-744-8668 to indicate their interest and to be placed on a waiting list to secure one of the limited funding positions. There is no obligation to apply once the application period begins.
Funding for the EMR Adoption Program is provided by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, through eHealth Ontario, and by Canada Health Infoway.
For more information, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions.