ECLIPSE became certified for Stage I as a Complete EHR on July 28th, 2011. We began providing clients with all the tools and information they’d need for compliance way back in January 2011… to ensure they’d meet the October 1st, 2011 deadline. And before the end of 2011, our clients were receiving their $18,000 payments.
Here are some interesting quotes I came across today (well after that 10/1/2011 deadline) among companies that sell software to health care providers. According to Company A’s website:
“The certification authority prohibits us from sharing our specific progress and where in the process we are…”
This one (which refers to CCHIT) sounds good… but it’s an outright lie. We kept our clients informed of our progress throughout the entire year as we proceeded through a series of CCHIT certifications. Here’s another quote:
“Company B just completed their testing for full ambulatory EHR certification and passed. Call (800) xxx-xxxx for further details.”
This was actually on B’s website. Of course, weeks after this appeared, the government’s Certified HIT Product List (CHPL) still doesn’t list them or their products… which means it’s not possible to achieve Meaningful Use if you currently use their software (a certification# is necessary). And by the way, the CHPL site is updated weekly.
And let’s not forget the fear factor. This next quote from Company C precedes a lengthy treatise trying to convince you that achieving Meaningful Us is too much work and has a high likelihood of failure:
“Buying a certified EHR software WILL NOT make you eligible to be paid back from the stimulus package.”
Scare tactics? At this point in time, most physicians should know a colleague who has either attested or been paid.
Then, there’s this one from Company D:
“Are you looking for a Stimulus Solution?
Our EHR Software is fully ONC-ATCB Certified.”
This company isn’t certified at all and you won’t find them on the government’s list. Instead, they’ve aligned themselves with another product that is certified — a fact which they fail to disclose. Who cares? You should. To make a long story short… during the next round of certifications (Stage II), this is likely to cause a problem for all the doctors who purchased the product… and let’s not forget all the extra support fees and higher product pricing.
So, what’s the point? As always, be careful what & who you choose to believe. Companies can play very loosely with the facts when they want to make sales. Earlier in the year both of these companies made statements either online or at shows to the effect that “Meaningful Use” wasn’t relevant to their clientele (chiropractors). How do I know this? Well, Karen actually spoke with a sales person from company A when she attended a seminar in NJ. He told her that Meaningful Use “didn’t apply to chiropractors” and that other companies were simply “jumping on the bandwagon” to make quick sales. The CEO of company B provided an assortment of “facts” via the internet to the effect that his clients weren’t affected, funding wouldn’t go through (so you had no chance of getting paid), etc.
Apparently, both companies learned their lesson… but now they’re late to the show. And they’ve both missed the first deadline… which allows easier attestation (for you) during an abbreviated time interval. One of them even has a “guarantee.”
We didn’t make any guarantees. We simply pointed out our 25+ year track record and then met all the deadlines. But consider those guarantees. How likely are you to return a product after you’ve spent months entering data into the software? The answer is “Not likely!” And these companies know this. Now, here’s a question you likely never considered: How responsible is a company to its current clients when it risks lawsuits by making guarantees for deadlines that it may not be able to meet… Hmmm.
By the way, I don’t mention names here because they’re irrelevant. Lots of companies play games like this. And most of you never even learn you’ve been hoodwinked.
Sometimes, the adage “You get what you pay for” doesn’t even begin to cover the eventual problems that unfold. Ask questions before you purchase. Lots of them. At this point in time, we have clients who began their careers with ECLIPSE, used it as their practices grew, and retired without ever experiencing a hiccup. Can I guarantee that for you? Well… of course not!
Addendum (1/2/2012): Some of the software vendors mentioned above still haven’t achieved certification. Many ECLIPSE users received $18,000 CMS payments in 2011.