American Medical Association President-elect Steven J. Stack, MD, issued a statement Feb. 11 expressing frustration with the meaningful use program's requirements.
The statement comes after CMS announced that three-quarters of eligible professionals are facing a $200 million reduction in Medicare reimbursement because they have been unable to attest meaningful use.
Dr. Stack said the program's inflexibility has inhibited physicians from fulfilling its requirements. He also condemned the program for being too expensive, requiring physicians to spend thousands of dollars on technology equipment to attest and fining them when they cannot afford it.
"The penalties physicians are facing as a result of the meaningful use program undermine the program's goals and take valuable resources away from physician practices that could be spent investing in better and additional technologies and moving to alternative models of care that could improve quality and lower costs," Dr. Stack said in the statement.
He added the AMA will continue to work with the administration to ensure that more physicians meet the requirements.