IT Priorities and Government Mandates

With the release of Stage 1 Meaningful Use guidelines two weeks ago, it is increasingly evident that these rules will drive IT agenda at most providers. A  new survey today by Embarcadero technologies seems to confirm this. I also read about a HIMSS leadership survey from a few days ago that stated Meaningful Use was listed as a priority by 42% of respondents versus 27% for other clinical initiatives.

On the other side of the debate are commentators like Paul Romer who believe Meaningful Use does not contribute towards better patient outcomes. Mr. Romer writes:

Meaningful Use, if used as a way to obtain incentive money is at best meaningless, at worst, without numerous other initiatives; it can disrupt your business. It seems to violate the dictum, “Do no harm.”

Stakeholders in the healthcare IT world need to develop a position on whether Meaningful Use will set the agenda for Providers. This question affects the very core of their strategy.