Let it be said that the Federal Government knows how to spend money on the wrong things in the wrong way.
THE SILVER BULLET APPROACH
One of the hypothesis (and yet to be proven) is that EMRs, and Health Information Exchanges will lower costs for medicare and private insurers.
The recent promises of using stimulus funds to promote health information technology while well intentioned has not been well thought out.
The financial structuring of the incentives is to 'rush' to implementation. This will actually encourage the adoption of immature and inadequate electronic medical record systems. Interoperability and certifications do not ensure an efficient or useful EMR.
Those providers who adopt this incentive thinking that the initial payoff in incentives will offset any possible penalties for delaying implementation. Furthermore they may adopt a system that will actually cost them more in the long run, by being inadequate for their use.
This legislation for HIT funding is fueled by industry lobbyists (vendors), and organizations such as HIMMS which are largely directed by vendors themselves.
They wait at the doors of "public funding" for their take of stimulus funds.
Adopter