With a Little Cash, Health IT on the Way

The new federal center set up to launch U.S. health care into the digital age has already certified more than 600 new health information technology products and is ready to start helping providers set these systems up, its new head said on Tuesday.

Farzad Mostashari, just two weeks into his new job as national coordinator for health information technology, said at a Bipartisan Policy Center panel discussion that his office has opened 62 regional "extension centers," which aim to help providers understand and set-up health IT programs.

The center, set up under the Health and Human Services Department, has started curricula at 82 community colleges around the country to focus on health IT. And most notably, Mostashari said, the agency has established competition in the marketplace, certifying more than 600 products from nearly 400 vendors that the federal government will accept for providers to get bonus payments.

Providers can receive up to $44,000 in incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over five years, but they must start using electronic health records next year to be eligible for all the cash. After 2015, providers will take a cut in their Medicare reimbursements if they are not using health IT up to government standards.