EHR rules may be too ambitious, says AHA

The U.S. hospital industry's largest trade association said the Obama administration's $14.6 billion program to encourage doctors to adopt electronic medical records is too ambitious and goals may not be met. More than 80 percent of hospitals have yet to achieve the requirements of the program's first stage, Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, said today in a 68-page letter to the Health and Human Services Department. He cited "the high bar set and market factors, such as accelerating costs and limited vendor capacity." Meeting goals for the program is also being complicated by a widening "digital divide" between large urban hospitals and small rural ones, according to Pollack.