News

October 27, 2011

Marino: Bill offers safeguards for electronic records

JONATHAN RISKIND Times Leader Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Tom Marino says providing better legal protections would promote more use of money-saving electronic records by Medicare and Medicaid health care providers.

Marino, R-Lycoming Township, on Wednesday unveiled a bill that he has dubbed the Safeguarding Access for Every Medicare Patient Act.

Marino said in a statement that offering incentives to providers to participate in electronic recordkeeping in the form of legal protections would encourage greater use of the electronic records and help persuade providers unhappy about low reimbursement rates to remain in the federal Medicare health program for seniors and federal-state Medicaid program for the poor.

Marino’s bill would create a system for reporting potential errors in electronic records without the admission of the mistake being used as a legal admission of wrongdoing, Marino’s office said.

“Many providers are reluctant to use electronic records because they believe the practice will make them more vulnerable to unnecessary legal action,” said Marino, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. “Every time a doctor or hospital chooses not to participate because of these fears, our seniors lose another provider. This protects access for seniors in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”

The bill would cover a broad array of health care providers, from doctors to hospitals, and health information entities and users, Marino’s office said.

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