Federal stimulus bill contains comprehensive HIT act

Not only does the latest version of the federal stimulus bill include $20 billion in health information technology spending, it also includes a comprehensive HIT act that is similar to those Congress has attempted to enact for several years (Source: "New stimulus bill contains complete health IT act," Government Health IT, Jan. 19, 2009).

The HIT portion of the committee's bill, which accounts for more than half of the 328-page document, goes further than most of the bipartisan bills of the past to reward doctors and hospitals for using
e-health records and strengthen privacy protections for patients

"As a result of this legislation, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that approximately 90 percent of doctors and 70 percent of hospitals will be using comprehensive electronic health records within the next decade," according to a summary of the bill released by the Ways and Means Committee staff.

Such an increase in electronic health record adoption would be especially remarkable, considering that a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine found that only 4% of U.S.
physicians were using "fully functional" EHR systems.