Last February, President Obama signed into law the $19.2 billion Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to accelerate the process of digitizing electronic health records (EHR) in the United States. Under this law, hospitals and healthcare professionals who demonstrate “meaningful use” of a certified EHR by the year 2015 will become eligible to receive millions of federal dollars in incentive payments, and those who do not comply could be penalized. In addition, healthcare organizations must comply with related security and privacy requirements. This has proven both a powerful motivator and source of great concern for many healthcare professionals across the country.
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