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February 17, 2009After weeks of debate and negotiations, Congress and the administration reached a deal on the $787 billion stimulus package last week. The package, which will provide $20 billion in funding for Health IT and EMR adoption, will be signed into law today at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
The Health IT industry is now turning it’s head from getting the funding to implementing the changes (several interesting discussions happening about this subject - try here and here).
The CCHIT has already taken steps to get the EMR adoption process moving:
“The CCHIT Incentive Index™, first published in September 2008, has been extensively updated and now identifies more than 100 programs dedicated to promoting the wider adoption of electronic health records, particularly in the physician office setting. The resource tracks programs that have been established since 2006 to help physicians and clinics adopt EHRs through financial assistance and other incentives. A majority of the programs call for qualifying EHRs to be CCHIT Certified®.
“The Index describes 45 programs offered by government agencies, insurance plans, employer coalitions and public-private partnerships, up from 40 in September. In addition, 59 programs representing 159 hospitals and their physician staffs have taken advantage of the federal “safe harbor” regulations announced in 2006, up from 50 in September. Under those rules, hospitals can subsidize up to 85 percent of certain costs for physicians to acquire, implement and maintain EHRs which are CCHIT Certified® for their offices.”
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