Most people who work in healthcare - particularly in the IT sector - are happy to have the $19 billion for healthcare IT, part of the government's $739 billion economic stimulus package.
It seems to have widespread support within the industry, from policy wonks to vendors.
We're climbing aboard the approval bandwagon. The injection of cash seems reasonable. After all, industry insiders have been telling us for years now that the major barrier to the uptake of healthcare IT is cost. We believe it.
With incentives built into the package, through Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, it seems more physicians and hospitals won't be able to afford taking a pass on going digital.
There are some in the industry who, like Marc Probst, CIO at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, support government investments in healthcare IT, but also worry about how the money will be spent.
"I think it's a terrible idea by the government to invest in healthcare IT - in EMR systems - without investing in standards," Probst says.
Probst is right to be concerned. Throwing a wad of cash at a problem never solved anything. Agreed.
Probst is clearly not alone with his concerns. A recent poll of healthcare IT News readers revealed that 75 percent of respondents were worried the $19B could be wasted.
We don't think so. We think the investment will turn out to be boon rather than bust.
President Obama talks about the audacity of hope. We need to be reminded by our leaders to act boldly - which doesn't mean to act without thought.
What is hopeful is that the industry is filled with thoughtful leaders like Probst, who are mindful that automating healthcare records that can't talk to one another is only marginally better than using paper records.
It is a point that former Speaker of the House, founder of the Center for Health Reform Newt Gingrich, notes in all his talks. Interoperability is critical. Standards are vital.
These are facts that most healthcare leaders today recognize and that many have been working for years to achieve. They are not about to give up now.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society recommended to the Obama Administration and Congress that the government invest $25 billion to help physician practices and hospitals covert to electronic records.
HIMSS urged the government to link the incentives for adoption of healthcare IT products to those that apply Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) specifications for interoperability and are certified by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), and the new law does just that.
John Halamka, MD, who heads the standards panel, suggested in a recent blog that what the country needs to do is to set measurable goals.
"By setting expectations, allocating the resources, and monitoring our progress, I am confident that we as a country can do this," he said.
Yes, we can.
