From a press release on Medical News Today:

The Electronic Health Records Association (EHR Association), in partnership with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), supports the compromise legislation to provide economic stimulus through funding of health information technology (HIT), promulgation of standards and enhancements to privacy regulations, as signed into as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“We have worked closely with the US House of Representatives, US Senate and industry partners to provide information on the practical application of HIT throughout the development of this important economic recovery package,” said Justin Barnes, EHR Association Chairman. “It’s not just about greater adoption of electronic health records, which, of course, are an important infrastructure component of the stimulus package, but, more fundamentally, we want to ensure Americans are afforded the real benefits of interoperable health IT and EHRs, which are proven to save lives, reduce costs and increase access to quality care.”

The EHR Association represents 41 member companies who are the major suppliers of electronic health record systems (EHRs) in the United States. EHR Association members have worked closely with physician practices and hospitals to successfully deploy thousands of EHRs, helping to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery.

“High quality, certified EHRs are ready for implementation today, and in fact are being implemented successfully throughout the United States,” Barnes added. “The incentives and grants to healthcare organizations in this legislation will require that our customers demonstrate “meaningful use” of certified EHR technologies. We understand the dedication required to implement EHRs and to meet the “meaningful use” criterion, and we’re prepared to support those efforts immediately. The time is now for physicians, hospitals and other eligible providers who have not yet adopted certified EHRs to do so in order to be eligible for the new incentives, grants and loans as soon as they are available.”

A recent survey of more than 1800 physicians also report that physicians support the HealthIT funds allocated in the new stimulus legislation:

“The survey of 1,888 physicians, medical group executives and staff reveals a consensus among medical groups that funding is critical, with 82 percent of respondents strongly agreeing that the government should provide funding for electronic health records in the economic stimulus package.

“The survey also confirms that existing incentive programs managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that are designed to encourage hospitals to donate EHRs to physicians and to spur adoption of electronic prescribing have been effective.

“Though respondents agreed that federal funding is needed for healthcare IT adoption, they were split on how funding could best be used, with some supporting grants toward the purchase of EHRs and others in favor of incentives to encourage EHR adoption.”

Read the full article: “Physicians support stimulus package initiatives, Allscripts survey shows“.