Question:

Jennifer,

I am a physiatrist and I don’t see medicare patients. Will I get fined for not writing escripts?

Thanks, D

Answer:

Nope.  You can’t get fined out of what you aren’t getting paid.  The Medicare incentives/penalties are paid or taken out of claims payable to your practice.

For those without a background, electronic prescribing or eprescribing means transmitting a prescription electronically directly to a pharmacy. If you take Medicare, the current e-prescribing initiative includes most of the psychiatry and evaluation and management codes. To encourage eprescribing, Medicare has allotted a 2% incentive for 2010. In 2011 and 2012 the incentive will be 1%, in 2013 it will be 0.5%. Thereafter, no incentive; just a penalty for those failing to eprescribe.

For more info on e-prescribing, CLICK HERE.

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