Habersham Medical Center in Demorest, Ga., has decided to return $1.5 million in electronic health record incentive payments to CMS, as the hospital did not meet all requirements of meaningful use stage 1, according to a report in The Northeast Georgian.
The hospital was expecting a software upgrade completed in 2012 to enable the hospital to qualify for the incentive payment, though the upgrade failed to meet all the necessary criteria. The Hospital Authority of Habersham County decided Sept. 17 to return the incentive funds, according to the report.
Returning the money "hurts us badly," said David Kirby, chair of the hospital authority, in the report. The hospital recently purchased new software and equipment, and plans to work toward successful attestation of meaningful use stages 2 and 3, according to the report.
More Articles on Meaningful Use:
HIMSS' 3 'Asks' to Congress for National Health IT Week
Delaware REC First in Nation to Help 1,000 PCPs Achieve MU1
American College of Physicians Sends MU2 Concerns, Recommendations to HHS