HITECH -- A part of the Obama Stimulus Bill That Is Clearly Working

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was included as a component of last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The HITECH Act includes the use of financial incentives and subsequent penalties to accelerate the adoption and "Meaningful Use" of health information technology, such as electronic health records. This optimal use of health IT, defined as the use of health IT to enable measurable improvements in health care outcomes, was termed "Meaningful Use." Early indicators show that HITECH is working and the U.S. healthcare system is all the better for it.