Developing Healthcare IT
May 14, 2009
New Federal laws will enable hospitals to become eligible for Medicare incentives if they can demonstrate that they are “meaningful users” of certified electronic health-record technology. What does this mean for Hospitals? This means, that there is an incentive to add these systems swiftly and accurately but the path to getting there seems treacherous and fraught with uncharted territory.
Hospitals are seeking out consultants to keep them on the cutting edge of this race however, the funding is difficult to acquire and Broadband Tele-health systems are complex. Congress has promised around $19 Billion for Health IT systems but this will only be allocated as hospitals prove that they can achieve and maintain a “Meaningful User” status under current guidelines.
Private organizations such as the “Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative Information Technology Network” have already begun laying down partnership models that could serve as examples in the future. Partnering between rural hospitals has been successful in integrating high-speed broadband connectivity between hospitals which has allowed collaboration across these facilities. The deployment of broadband networks is necessary in order to expand telemedicine services to the country. That being said, there are still large challenges to overcome on the path to broadband access across the board. Increasingly, it is clear that the only means for survival are to work together and collaborate with other facilities in your area to achieve mutual goals.
To learn more go to: http://tinyurl.com/dlf9hk
- Categories: Legislative Strategy, Technology
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