Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, abbreviated the HITECH Act, was enacted under Title XIII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111–5 (text) (PDF)). Under the HITECH Act, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. HHS) resolved to spend $25.9 billion to promote and expand the adoption of health information technology.[1] The Washington Post reported the inclusion of "as much as $36.5 billion in spending to create a nationwide network of electronic health records."[2] At the time it was enacted, it was considered "the most important piece of health care legislation to be passed in the last 20 to 30 years"[3] and the "foundation for health care reform."[3][4]

The former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Farzad Mostashari, has explained: "You need information to be able to do population health management. You can serve an individual quite well; you can deliver excellent customer service if you wait for someone to walk through the door and then you go and pull their chart. What you can't do with paper charts is ask the question, 'Who didn't walk in the door?'"[5]

  1. ^ HHS.gov/Recovery Recovery Act-Funded Programs Archived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine Health Information Technology (IT) section Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, also known as HIT
  2. ^ "The Machinery Behind Health-Care Reform", The Washington Post, May 16, 2009
  3. ^ a b Contractors hungry for stimulus Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, July 24, 2009
  4. ^ Why and How Secretary Sebelius Should Avoid a Network Monopoly, ADRIAN GROPPER MD, Mar 5, 2009
  5. ^ ONC Chief: Meaningful Use of Meaningful Use Measures Archived 2013-06-22 at the Wayback Machine, July 23, 2012