Health information technology: driving adoption

The past two years in the electronic health record (EHR) market have been a frothy churn of change, as vendors and providers grapple with the complexities of "meaningful use:' Guided by the belief that widespread utilization of health information technology will lead to better health care outcomes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has crafted a EHR incentive program using a multi-stage approach, or "glide path:' lined with a series of financial rewards and penalties as incentives to both drive behavior and overcome one of the known barriers to the widespread deployment of EHRs--the cost.