HIT Help on the Way?
Breaking through red tape at seemingly record speed, the $787 billion economic stimulus package--officially dubbed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009--was signed into law yesterday. President Obama expressed confidence in the plan before issuing his signature.
The final plan directs $19 billion toward HIT, including $17 billion in incentives for hospitals and physicians practices that adopt and use EHRs, starting in 2011. Providers who do not implement such HIT initiatives by 2014 or 2015 will be penalized through reduced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. The stimulus package also lays aside funds to aid floundering state Medicaid programs and help recently unemployed workers extend their health coverage through COBRA.
To help achieve HIT goals, the new law formalizes the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT, a position established during the last administration to guide and encourage EHR implementation and standardization. The government will also establish an HIT Research Center to identify best practices, which regional centers will then communicate to providers.
Debate has ensued over privacy provisions in the law, particularly about who will have access to patients' EHRs. While the law strengthens HIPAA regulations and cites penalties for security breaches, privacy proponents argue that certain loopholes may permit the sale of protected health information for research and marketing purposes. Others claim the new regulations are too stringent and will limit the public health benefits of digitized records.