![]() ![]() And the majority of these hospitals are on their second EHR implementation, and some on their third. While the costs of EHR implementations are closely guarded secrets in most cases, there is enough data to that has leaked out that indicates that medium-sized hospitals have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in their EHR implementations each, while an increasing number of large hospitals have already spent over a billion dollars each in their EHR implementations and some hospital systems are in the $10 to $20 billion range. It’s a lot of money, but only a small fraction of the actual amount of money medical facilities have been forced to spend on EHRs. Looking at the HITECH Act as a “carrot and stick” approach to health IT, what the press is reporting on is basically just the cost of the carrots. So what are the real figures? For starters, the $35 billion the press constantly refers to is only the amount of money paid out as taxpayer-funded subsidies to “encourage” hospitals and other medical facilities to implement EHRs. ![]() That would start with firm numbers regarding the real costs of EHR implementations forced on an unprepared healthcare system by the HITECH Act. Perhaps the next step is to provide accountability and transparency. While the press continues to report the figure of $35 billion as the cost of implementing EHRs, that figure does not tell the entire story. Hopefully, the public statements made by President Obama and Vice President Biden will lead to a public debate over the monumental problems that the HITECH Act and proprietary EHR vendors have caused the American people.
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