The trouble with CHINS (community health information networks)

If one had to choose a single acronym that captures both the vision and folly of today's health care industry, it would be "CHIN." The term--which stands for "community health information network"--combines the idealism of community-based health care with the promise of computer automation. Ironically, the acronym may come to be synonymous with "sticking your neck out"; these costly computer networks presuppose a quixotic collaboration among hospitals and health systems long at one another's competitive throats. For CHINs to succeed, they must overcome barriers that many industry insiders say are insurmountable.