Hospitals struggling to meet electronic records goals

According to the American Hospital Association, more than 80 percent of hospitals have yet to achieve the first stage of electronic health record "meaningful use" and, therefore, can't qualify for federal incentive payments.

Bloomberg: Electronic-Records Goals Aren't Met By 80% Of U.S. Hospitals
More than 80 percent of hospitals have yet to achieve the requirements for the first stage of a $14.6 billion U.S. program to encourage doctors to adopt electronic medical records, the industry's largest trade group said. The program is too ambitious and goals may not be met, Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, said yesterday in a 68-page letter to the Health and Human Services Department. He cited "the high bar set and market factors, such as accelerating costs and limited vendor capacity" (Wayne, 5/1).

Modern Healthcare: AHA Seeks Smoother Road For Hospitals On Stage 2
American Hospital Association Executive Vice President Richard Pollack says the "digital divide" is widening between technologically advanced large and urban hospitals and their smaller and rural counterparts. Meanwhile, although nearly 3,500 hospitals have registered for federal incentive payment programs for the use of electronic health-records systems, more than 80 percent of hospitals have not yet achieved the first stage of meaningful use of their EHRs to qualify them for incentive payments -- a result, Pollack said, of "both the high bar set and market factors such as accelerating costs and limited vendor capacity" (Conn, 5/1).