EMR users given preference in CMS payment bundling program

The new voluntary bundling demonstration project revealed last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Innovation Center seeks to incentivize hospitals, physicians and others who collaborate on patient care. But consider carefully who you choose to partner with if you're going to file an application to participate: your chances of being accepted are more favorable if you're using electronic medical records.    

The "Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative," unveiled August 23, is seeking applications for four broadly defined models of care.  The Initiative will give providers "great flexibility in selecting conditions to bundle, developing the healthcare delivery structure, and determining how payments will be allocated among participating providers," the Center says in its press release...