Dentists are eligible under both the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, and many dentists have already earned EHR incentives.

1. Dentists & Meaningful Use:
An Update on Participation &
Requirements

2. Dentists are eligible under both the
Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive
Programs. Many dentists have already
registered to participate and have
received EHR incentive funds through
one of these programs.

3. Medicare does not cover routine dental
care or most dental procedures. For that
reason, most dentists must look to
Medicaid for incentive program
participation.

4. As of July 2012, CMS reported:
• 6,121 dentists have registered for the
Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.
• 242 dentists have registered for the
Medicare EHR Incentive Program.

5. As of July 2012, CMS reported:
• 3,049 dentists have received a total of
$64,583,000 in Medicaid EHR incentives.
• 59 dentists have received a total of
$892,856 in Medicare EHR incentives.

6. In order to qualify for incentives, dentists
must meet the same eligibility
requirements as other types of providers
pursuing EHR incentives.

7. The American Dental Association
estimates that about 12,000 dentists
meet the Medicaid patient volume
threshold of 30 percent, making them
eligible to participate & qualify for up to
$67,350 over the 6-year Medicaid EHR
Incentive program.

8. There are no dental-specific measures
in Stage 1 or Stage 2 Meaningful Use
criteria. Dentists will likely be able to
apply exclusion clauses to many
objectives, but each dentist must
determine whether he or she meets the
exclusion criteria for each applicable
objective.

9. • Stage 1: 13 of 25 objectives have
exclusion criteria.
• Stage 2: 20 of 23 objectives have
exclusion criteria.
• Beginning in 2014, exclusions will not
count toward meeting menu objectives if
there are other menu objectives the EP
could select.

10. Dentists who wish to meet Meaningful
Use requirements will be eligible to do
so by either:
1. using an ONC-ATCB Certified EHR
that includes EDR functionality or
2. using an EDR in conjunction with an
ONC-ATCB Certified EHR.

11. Medicaid EHR Incentive
Program
In Year 1 of the Medicaid EHR Incentive
Program, EPs must only adopt,
implement or upgrade certified EHR
technology.

12. Medicaid EHR Incentive
Program
• Year 2: EPs must demonstrate
Meaningful Use for 90 continuous days.
• Years 3 – 6: EPs must demonstrate
Meaningful Use for a full year.

13. Want more details on
Meaningful Use?
• Access a free recorded webinar,
“Dentists and Meaningful Use”
• Download a free Meaningful Use White
Paper
• Access resources on Stage 1 and 2
criteria in our Meaningful Use Resource
Center

14. Learn more!
Our website hosts a wealth of free
resources, including white papers, case
studies, industry blog, newsletter
covering current events in health care,
tips and tricks for your practice, and
other informative articles.
www.successehs.com