I’ve been asked to give a presentation at an upcoming conference – “Access Federal Stimulus Incentives for Electronic Health Records” – being held at the Hilton in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 24-25, and I decided to accept the opportunity to share my observations on a topic we follow every single day.
At the show, I’ll deliver a talk called, “Progress in the Trenches,” detailing how HITECH has effected the market, and the challenges CIOs face in making sure their organizations qualify for the incentive payments. The session will constitute a “state of the industry” view of how hospitals across the country are grappling with HITECH.
- What are hospitals’ pain points in meeting the legislation’s requirements?
- Are tight deadlines resulting in rushed work and suboptimal implementation outcomes?
- Do a large percentage of hospitals feel they will miss out on a portion of the payments?
Day 1 Lineup (I’m speaking at 4:30)
Day 2 Lineup (I will open the day with an overview of Day 1)
My general thoughts? The industry is doing its best to comply with shoddy legislation that has foisted upon it unrealistic timelines which will probably result in many suboptimal implementations. The regional extension centers will be nowhere near ready to help the most needy providers select and implement HIT software in order to qualify for the first wave of HITECH incentive payments. We already see consultants being bombarded by requests for help, “just like Y2K,” one recently said to me; while the vendors turn to be swamped is about six months away. Meaningful use is becoming clearer as a preliminary definition stands the test of two policy meetings, while what constitutes “certification” is still a work in progress.
The devil, everyone knows, is in the details; specifically the details of what data CMS will require to qualify for the payments and how that data must be submitted – all of which is scheduled for release in 2010.
I’m really looking forward to this event and hope you can join me. For more information, please visit www.cbinet.com/federalstimulusconference. If you would like to register, email [email protected] or call 1.800.817.8601.
