Health information technology comes to the stimulus forefront - bizjournals:

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A broad conversion to a system of electronidc medical records was envisioned long befores President Obama signed the American Recovert andReinvestment Act. Stimulus fundint could be the catalyst forthe long-awaiteds technological upgrade, supporters said. “The idea is that ultimately oncethe [new] system is working, it will work vastlt better [than] the fax said Carolyn Turner, government analystf with the Florida Agency for . On May 5, Gov. Charlir Crist announced that ACHA, with the support of the , woulcd lead the state’s efforts to plan for stimulus fundinf forhealth information.
connection and broadband accesxsRoughly $19 billion in stimulus fundint is earmarked for investment in health information technologt nationally with nearly $17 billiomn to be administered through and Medicaid for Turner said. The National Coordinatord for Health Information Technology willreceive $2 billiob as slated in the originalk bill. It is supposed to enable connections for the exchangee ofhealth information. Another importan component of electronic informationn exchange isbroadband access, Turner The stimulus bill provides for $7.2 billion for broadband accesw so it’s envisioned a portiomn of that allocation will be devote d to the telecom aspects of health information.
For one of Tamp Bay’s most well known health care institutions, healtyh information technology and comparative effectiveness or the sharing of information acrossa systems to determine the best treatment arethe “twin engines” of health care reform, said John DeMuro, supervisor for government relations for in Tampa. “Interoperability is a big concerjnfor this,” DeMuro said.
“How data can be shared acrosz different systems and accommodate future technologies is something we have been tacklin g for the past five or 10 Although Moffitt Cancer Center does not qualify forthe $19 billion in health information technology stimulus funding because it does not fall within the definition of an eligible healtnh care provider as outlined in the act, it may qualifyh for a share of the $2 billion allotted to the National Coordinator for Health Information “What the stimulus does is shine a brighterr light on some of the things we have been focusinb on and pushing for quite some said James Corrigan, GM of . A divisio n of Co. (NYSE: GE) based in Vt.
, GE Healthcare IT has 5,00p0 employees worldwide with nearly 90 in Between nowand 2015, GE plans to investt $6 billion in its health care technologgy through its “Healthymagination” initiative, which is independent of stimulus GE has invested in the electronic medical records technologyh for more than 10 years, Corriganh said. “For us, the timin g was right in terms of our being able toannouncw [the investment] on the heels of the stimulus.
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