Two articles published recently, “‘Will the Feds Really Buy Me an EHR?’ and Other Commonly Asked Questions About the HITECH Act” [July/August 2009] and “A Physician's Guide to the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: The Basics” [September/October 2010] included tables that provided incomplete information about the incentives offered in the Medicare incentive program. The correct relationships between start year and maximum incentive are shown below.

In addition, the latter article incorrectly described the circumstances in which participants would be required to have only 90 consecutive days of meaningful use during the first year. In fact, participants in either the Medicare or the Medicaid incentive program can qualify for the incentive in their first year of meaningful use with only 90 days of meaningful use beginning as late as Oct. 1. As the article said, participants in the Medicaid program would not be required to demonstrate even that 90 days of meaningful use until their second incentive year.