2009: The Year of Health IT?
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 placed billions of dollars into the market place to encourage and speed up the adoption of health technology by health care providers, particularly to increase the adoption rate of electronic health records systems (EHRs). The premise of this investment was that EHRs can help improve the efficiency and safety of the health care provided to patients in the United States. Eligible providers that implement and EHR may be eligible for between $50,000 and $60,000 in reimbursement through Medicare and Medicaid over a five or six year pay back period that starts in 2011. (See article on ARRA incentives) So will 2009 be looked on as the year of Health IT? Maybe.
Capital to invest in the hardware and software for EHRs is certainly in short supply for many health care providers squeezed by the recession and insurers. And EHRs are expensive. ARRA helps to address this by providing a path for providers to get reimbursed for EHRs they implement that meet the ARRA requirements of (a) meaningful use, (b) interface with health information exchanges, and (c) clinical quality based on data-driven measures. However, with all of the demand for health IT, the supply of qualified consultants to implement these systems in health care practices is in short supply. There is a high failure rate of EHR implementations (estimated at 50% in prior years). In addition, there is a relatively low adoption rate (estimated at 20% by studies) of EHR technology in the U.S.
This site is designed to provide information on the issues with implementing health IT, and to provide guidance on how to avoid the major pitfalls so that your project can be a success. Ultimately, health IT has the promise to reduce the cost of care while improving its quality, while also improving the quality of life of the health care providers doing the work. The health care market in the U.S. is an enormous one – estimated at $2.3 trillion annually. Health IT has the promise of ensuring that more Americans enjoy health care by expanding access to the scarce professional resources available to patients, while also increasing the overall quality of care provided to all. Contact us for more information or if we can be of service to your organization.