President's Stimulus Law Provides Funds for Informatics Initiatives

President Obama's economic stimulus package includes $17 billion in Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments to health care providers who demonstrate "meaningful use" of healthcare IT in their practices. For now, there is still some debate over what "meaningful use" means. Check out the transcript of a recent hearing sponsored by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics for a discussion on what "meaningful use" should include.

Another outcome of the stimulus package is the creation of two advisory committees - the Health IT Policy Committee and the Health IT Standards Committee. These committees were established to make policy recommendations for an interoperable health IT system to David Blumenthal, National Coordinator For Health IT.