EHRs make it easier for healthcare providers to bill for their services, whether or not they provide additional care. Hospitals have begun billing more than five years ago, due in part to changing the billing codes they assign emergency room patients and office visits. Hospitals received $1 billion more in Medicare reimbursements in 2010 than in 2005.
EHRs could also be driving these costs. For example, Baptist Hospital in Nashville’s claims rose 82 percent in 2010, the year after it began using a software system for its emergency room records.
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