Wheres the HIT in HCR (Health Care Reform)?
Let’s give credit where credit is due. From where I sit, Congress took a big step toward a digital health care system by including the HITECH provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Approximately $30 billion in new federal spending was authorized for various health IT activities, the bulk of which goes toward economic incentives for physicians and hospitals to be “meaningful users” of certified electronic health records. Monies were also allocated for extension services, state initiatives, loans and grants. All good. But I should have known. It was predictable. Certainly there is no reason to be surprised. Having included HITECH and its authorized funding in ARRA, it appears Congress thought its health IT work was done. Were it only that easy. If we are to have real health care reform, a greater health IT effort is required than what was accomplished in ARRA. Let’s take a brief digression. It is essential, in my mind, that everyone working in health IT — from
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