The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was signed on February 17, 2009 by President Barack Obama. ARRA provides many different stimulus opportunities, one of which is $19.2 billion on health IT.
A subsection of ARRA includes Title XIII better known as Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). HITECH within ARRA is the primary source that deals with many of the health information communication and technology provisions including encouraging the adoption of electronic health records and incentives to assist providers and organizations in that adoption.
For additional information on ARRA and HITECH —
ONC has developed a comprehensive website on Health IT; and
CMS has a webpage and resources on HIT.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 PDF
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Health information technology (health IT) makes it possible for health care providers to better manage patient care through secure use and sharing of health information. Health IT includes the use of electronic health records (EHRs) instead of paper medical records to maintain people's health information.
SUMMARY: The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.
SUMMARY: Important New Evidence on the Journey to HIT-Assisted Health Care
SUMMARY: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) supports two national health IT adoption surveys: one of physician offices and one of hospitals. The surveys: Assess the current state of health IT adoption; Specify measurable goals and methods for evaluating strategies; and, Determine approaches that can accelerate health IT adoption in a cost-effective manner.