Provide a detailed history of the effort in the US to digitize medical and health records. Today, about 99% of healthcare providers use digital records, but it was much less only ten years ago. Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) offered incentives and requirements for healthcare providers to digitize records. Examine and analyze these incentives and requirements, as well as their impact and provider response. A few commercial service providers (such as Epic and Cerner) were leaders in driving digitation of medical records for hospitals and clinics. Examine their range of service, costs to hospitals, and other news about these health IT vendors. Research and provide trendline of adoption – As you look at the entire history of digital medical records in the US, please provide a trendline of adoption and use. Lastly, now that most hospitals, clinics and doctors in the US use digital records, what has been the impact and response (complaints and praises) from the provider community. |