Avoiding the trap in the HITECH Act's incentive timeframe for implementing the EHR

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, often called the Stimulus Package or the Stimulus Bill, contains a section called the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). The HITECH Act made several significant changes to the current HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules and provided funds and incentives to increase the use of electronic health records (EHRs) by eligible physicians and eligible hospitals, as discussed below. The HITECH Act also provides funding for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, which oversees technology standards, implementation strategies, and impact assessment. The goals of the Office of National Coordinator are to achieve use of an EHR for each person in the country by 2014 and to develop a nationwide health information technology infrastructure in support of the first goal. Further, the HITECH Act provides funding for establishing at least 70 regional centers to help promote the adoption of EHRs. These centers are to offer technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices to help providers achieve meaningful use of EHRs. This article will define the EHR, discuss the HITECH Act EHR stimulus, and explain the problem with the HITECH Act EHR incentive time-frame.