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The current quest of physician practices to purchase electronic health record solutions is reminiscent of the California gold rush of the 1850s. Practices are rushing to claim their share of the government stimulus funding, while more vendors than ever are in the market place offering EHR solutions.

With the end of the comment period approaching for ONC’s proposed “meaningful use” standards, it seems safe to say that the majority of groups representing healthcare providers have significant concerns about the impact of the proposed standards.

With the impending comment deadline for Meaningful Use (MU) fast approaching, many organizations, from CHIME to AHA to AAFP and others are asking for some form of relaxation of MU criteria in the final version.

Amidst a still-faltering economy, the bright spot has been healthcare IT, thanks to ARRA and its HITECH Act. Just as there is a lot of hope and energy invested in moving the healthcare industry into the 21st century, there are equal parts of anxiety and pessimism that billions of dollars will be spent without transforming the industry in the form of increased quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery, and reduction of medical errors and cost.

As the deadline for submitting public comment for the meaningful use criteria draws near, it seems as if there has been an uptick in concern and criticism being voiced regarding the federal government’s legislative efforts to drive healthcare IT adoption.

When U.S. President Barack Obama talks about creating more jobs for his citizenry he doesn't frequently mutter the letters “ICD” followed by the number “10,” but some experts in the thick of healthcare are starting to view the conversion as a way to employ more Americans.

The Consumer Partnership for e-Health released consumer and employer responses to criticism about various aspects of the meaningful use criteria for EHR adoption. At first blush, it was surprising to see general support for the criteria. Then again, this nonpartisan group comprising consumer, patient, and labor organizations whose mission is to improve healthcare quality and achieving a patient-centered healthcare system through IT and knowledge sharing, represents some pretty knowledgeable parties. In other words, their responses aren't from the general public who are given sound bytes on healthcare reform and transformation.

The great thing about the HIMSS10 roundtable that I attended this past Wednesday was that there were great discussions.

At HIMSS10 in Atlanta this week, you couldn't escape the topic of meaningful use and ARRA. From keynote addresses and education sessions to exhibit hall and Interoperability Showcase, the "M" word was the buzz word.

Every year, I describe my top 10 impressions from HIMSS. Here's my summary of the event for 2010.