FL hospitals, doctors vie to create patient data system

A consortium of local hospitals and the physician-led Hillsborough Medical Association are separately discussing ways to link electronic patient records throughout the Tampa Bay area. Hospitals have the most money invested in the issue, but local doctors think they are more patient-centered and better-suited to coordinate the effort. In 2009, the federal government's $27 billion push to transition to electronic medical records came with great expectations. Missing, however, was a framework suggesting who should define and lead the creation of medical information exchanges capable of translating data from as many as 1,000 approved medical record software products.