TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

USF Pushes Doctors To Go Electronic

ADVERTISEMENT

By RICHARD MULLINS

rmullins@tampatrib.com

Published: March 17, 2009

TAMPA - The University of South Florida on Monday launched a drive to persuade area doctors to ditch their paper medical records and switch to an all-electronic prescriptions system.

Funneled through a public-private partnership, the university will help deploy more than 100 medical software trainers, plus a range of subsidies, to help convert physicians' offices.

Funded in part with economic stimulus dollars, the project matches USF Health and Chicago-based Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc., a national, for-profit provider of electronic medical records systems.

Current law allows federal regulators to pay physicians $44,000 to $64,000 over five years to deploy electronic records systems for patients, starting in 2011, plus $3,500 in annual incentives for upgrading. In theory, federal law can impose penalties on doctors who do not "e-prescribe" by 2012.
Program officials estimate less than 10 percent of physicians in the United States write prescriptions electronically. The program aims to reach doctors in 10 counties in the Tampa Bay area.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT