Read More on Health IT: Healthcare Reform Will Revolutionize the Provider Contracting Model

Clearly Uncle Sam is a proponent of electronic medical record technology. When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), better known as the U.S. stimulus package, was passed in February, more than $19 billion was set aside to help spur the healthcare industry's adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). As much as $44,000 in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements could be available to physicians who adopt EHR systems and demonstrate their "meaningful use." Meanwhile providers that do not adopt EHR technology by 2015 could face penalties. Little else, however, is certain about how the government intends to push EHR adoption or what role health insurers, many of which have worked to drive EHR adoption within their networks, might play in the effort. What will be considered "meaningful use" of EHR technology? What data should and should not be a part of an individual's EHR? And what can we learn from current EHR efforts?

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