80% of hospitals are unprepared for second phase of the electronic health record implementation

Hospital CIOs and health IT executives are urging the federal government to give health-care providers more time to prepare for the second stage of electronic health record implementation.

More than 80 percent of hospitals have yet to achieve the requirements for the first stage of the program.

a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services, the The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) recommended that medical providers be given a 90-day period to demonstrate that their EHR's meet upgrade standards. The same 90-day approach was taken in stage one of the EHR implementation.

The records program, enacted as a part of the economic stimulus law in 2009, makes hospitals eligible for payments of as much as $11.5 million if they can demonstrate "meaningful use" of computer systems.

Electronic-Records Goals Aren't Met by 80% of U.S. Hospitals (Bloomberg Businessweek, May 1, 2012)
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-30/hospitals-say-u-dot-s-dot-electronic-records-rules-may-be-too-ambitious

CIOs Seek More Time for Electronic Records (Nextgov.com, May 2, 2012)
http://www.nextgov.com/health/health-it/2012/05/cios-seek-more-time-electronic-records/55542/

CHIME Letter (cio-chime.org, Apr. 30, 2012)
http://www.cio-chime.org/advocacy/resources/download/CHIME_Comments-Electronic_Health_Record_Incentive_Program-Stage_2_NPRM.pdf