Amidst a still-faltering economy, the bright spot has been healthcare IT, thanks to ARRA and its HITECH Act. Just as there is a lot of hope and energy invested in moving the healthcare industry into the 21st century, there are equal parts of anxiety and pessimism that billions of dollars will be spent without transforming the industry in the form of increased quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery, and reduction of medical errors and cost. Read »

At HIMSS10 in Atlanta this week, you couldn't escape the topic of meaningful use and ARRA. From keynote addresses and education sessions to exhibit hall and Interoperability Showcase, the "M" word was the buzz word. Not surprisingly, a number of attendees are worried about what these regulations may mean for their healthcare organizations. And there are those attendees who are downright not in favor of the meaningful use requirements. Read »

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has launched CIO State Network (StateNet), an online communication and resource network for healthcare chief information officers to keep abreast of state matters related to the HITECH Act and other state health IT activity. It’s a great idea and a strategic move for CHIME. Read »

A survey recently released by research firm SK&A, a Cegedim Company, shows an increase in physician adoption of EHRs, confirming earlier findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Read »

British Columbia's auditor general released a blistering report on the province’s planned $222 million EHR system. A lack of planning from the start is blamed for a lack of results four years into the program. Interestingly, John Doyle, auditor general, criticized the province for focusing on securing federal funds over creating a solid roadmap. Can you say "cautionary tale" for states that have been notified of ARRA funding? Read »

The Departments of Health and Human Service and Labor announced last Friday nearly $1 billion in grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for healthcare IT training, regional extension centers (RECs) and health information exchange. Read »

A survey conducted by market research firm division GfK Roper reveals that EHR usage is growing in the primary care physician and specialist groups. Of the 1,000 adults polled, 48.4 percent reported that their PCP or specialist documented their last visit electronically in the exam room. Within this group, 45.2 percent noted that their physician switched from paper to electronic in the last two years, while 14.3 percent indicated that the switch was done in the last six months. Is this trend – if it is a trend – a result of ARRA? Read »

Imagine it's 2020. You had a test done the day before, a test that was ordered because your physician was alerted via your EHR to a gap in care. The following morning, both you and your physician receive the results via e-mail, you via your PHR and she via her EHR system. Read »

I don't believe anyone in the healthcare industry believes ARRA will single-handedly drive up EHR adoption among providers. Of course, the hope is that the federal incentive money will bring physicians, for whom cost is an issue, into the fold. But what's going to really move the needle on EHR adoption? Read »

Physician adoption of EHRs has been rising, according to surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Commonwealth Fund and Kalorama Information. What's driving the trend is not necessarily the promise of ARRA bonuses. Read »