Health Care Group Teleconference: Electronic Health Records: How New Stark and Anti-Kickback Rules May Help Speed Adoption

Many providers are excited about the possible benefits of electronic health records (EHR).  Unfortunately, the costs of EHR implementation may be too high for smaller physician practices, and hospitals may be hesitant to adopt EHR systems if members of their medical staffs and community physicians do not have compatible technology.  Hospitals that are interested in speeding adoption of EHR in their communities by donating technology to physicians, or by sharing the cost of implementation, have largely been unable to do so because of Stark and Anti-Kickback concerns.  The absence of adequate protection under the Stark and Anti-Kickback laws for donations of EHR technology has, as a result, presented a significant barrier to widespread adoption of EHR.  This session will explore new Stark exceptions and Anti-Kickback safe harbors that protect certain donations of EHR technology, and will include a discussion of permissible donors and recipients, the scope of protected technology, requirements for cost sharing, and new standards for interoperability.