Attachment K -- Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet for Study Participants

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY?

The objective of this study is to understand the barriers that health care providers encounter meeting criteria to receive Medicaid incentive payments for adopting and using certified electronic health records (EHRs). This work is funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The results of this research will inform future regulations regarding the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

Participants who qualify for this study will be invited to participate in a 2-hour focus group discussion (or in some cases, interview.) Some focus groups will be conducted in person, while others will be conducted by conference call on a secure telephone line, with some on-line content for you to see.

During the focus group or interview, a facilitator will ask participants a standard set of questions. Follow-up questions will be tailored based on the responses. Other experts may be present to provide you with background information as needed.

The session will be audio recorded (and possibly video-recorded, if in-person) for accuracy and all responses you provide will be kept in complete confidence. Your responses will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law, including AHRQ’s confidentiality statute, 42 USC 299c-3(c). Answers will be reported in aggregate, summary form with no attribution to any individual or practice. Any audio- and/or video- recordings will be destroyed once we have completed our analysis and reporting.

WILL PARTICIPATION AFFECT MY REIMBURSEMENTS OR ELIGIBILITY FOR EHR INCENTIVE PAYMENTS?

No. Your participation will have no effect on any reimbursements due to you for services rendered for Medicare or Medicaid. Nothing you say will have any effect on your eligibility to receive incentive payments for the adoption and use of EHR systems in your practice.

WILL I BE PAID FOR PARTICIPATION?

Yes. Each participant will be offered a token of appreciation in the form of a gift of $200.

HOW WAS I SELECTED?

To qualify for this study, participants must either be a health care professional eligible for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Eligible professionals include physicians, dentists, certified nurse-midwives, and nurse practitioners, as well as those physician assistants who are the lead clinicians at their rural health centers. We contacted individuals who we believed served a relatively high proportion of Medicaid patients, based on referrals from professional associations or by looking at Medicaid provider directories.

HOW LONG WILL THE FOCUS GROUP SESSION OR INTERVIEW LAST?

Each session is designed to last approximately 2 hours.

ARE THERE ANY RISKS TO PARTICIPATION?

RTI International is under contract with AHRQ to conduct this study. RTI and its subcontractors, by contract and Federal regulation, may not provide your identity to the Federal government. There is a remote possibility that something about your participation would be divulged in error or that someone else in the focus group would reveal something said. There is also a remote possibility that a recording from the focus group session or interview would be lost or stolen.

WHOM SHALL I CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?

You may contact Dr. Sean O. Hogan, from RTI International. He is leading the data collection activities for this study. He can be reached at (800) 334-8571, ext. 2-5265, or at [email protected].

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