ARRA

From Clinfowiki
Revision as of 05:13, 1 March 2010 by Adglass (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

On February 17th, 2009 ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, became law. The Health Information Technology Economy and Clinical Health (HITECH) act is that part of ARRA which encourages adoption of comprehensive electronic medical records (EMR) systems by physicians and hospitals. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 90 of physicians and 70 percent of hospitals will use these systems by 2020 due to this legislation. The following sections summarize the major points of HITECH.

Establishment of ONCHIT

Financial Incentives HITECH provides $19 Billion in potential incentives to physicians and hospitals for "meaningful use" of certified EMR systems. $2 Billion is available as grants and loans to support health information technology research and development of a national health IT network.

Financial Penalties

Privacy and Security HITECH gives states' attorneys general the authority to prosecute HIPAA violations.