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Incoming reaction and comments to the final meaningful use criteria have so far been fairly positive. I don't know if the organizations that are calling for changes are resigned to the fact that the rule making for stage 1 is final and want their comments to be taken into consideration when the stage 2 requirements are being discussed.

Powerful forces are driving many practices toward EHRs, especially now that incentives for EHR use are more clearly defined within ARRA. First-time buyers, in particular, cannot afford to enter such high-stakes negotiations only half-informed.

Tuesday at 10 am, CMS and ONC released the final rules that will guide electronic health record rollouts for the next 5 years. Here's my analysis of the key changes in the Final Rule.

The Dept. of Health and Human Services obviously listened to the resounding criticism that the proposed meaningful use criteria were asking for too much, too soon or all or nothing.

To many healthcare IT professionals the phrase ICD-10 is downright frightening. Mammoth in expanse and expense, the conversion, along with the requisite HIPAA 5010, is the stuff of Jungian nightmares, early retirement, or profound career changes.

The most well-known patient privacy advocate voiced her support for the Dept. of Health and Human Services' new patient privacy policy.

University of Missouri researchers are developing an EHR that will encompass the needs of older patients, the numbers of which are growing exponentially as more and more Baby Boomers continue to age.

It's probably a safe bet to say that today's physician practices are fielding more calls than ever from vendors offering to sell them electronic health record systems.

While Congress was in recess, President Obama appointed Donald Berwick, MD, to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which has been without an administrator since 2006. Let's forget the usual politics for a moment and focus on the impact this appointment will make on health IT adoption.

They say as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services goes, so goes the rest of the payer industry. CMS is close to releasing the final meaningful use criteria. There are rumblings out in the marketplace that commercial payers are putting meaningful use criteria in their physician contracts.