National Health Information Network Cost and Structure
Authors: Robert B. Doherty
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2006)

Letters17 January 2006National Health Information Network Cost and StructureRobert B. Doherty, BARobert B. Doherty, BAFrom the American College of Physicians, Washington, DC 20006.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-144-2-200601170-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:As Congress considers financial incentives to speed the adoption of health information technology, it must pay attention to the findings and conclusions of the study by Kaushal and colleagues (1). Their most striking observation was the estimated $48 billion annual operating costs that will be required to maintain a national health information network. These ongoing costs and the lack of financial return on investment to providers are perhaps the greatest barriers to attracting small physician practices into the information technology age. As Basch (2) correctly points out, it is this “misalignment of incentives” that translates into vast ...References1. Kaushal R, Blumenthal D, Poon EG, Jha AK, Franz C, Middleton B, et al. The costs of a national health information network. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:165-73. [PMID: 16061914] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Basch P. Electronic health records and the national health information network: affordable, adoptable, and ready for prime time? [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:227-8. [PMID: 16061921] LinkGoogle Scholar3. The Health Information Technology Act of 2005: Hearings on S1227 before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 109th Cong, 1st Sess (2005). Google Scholar4. The National Health Information Incentive Act of 2005: Hearings on HR 747 before the House Subcommittee on Health, 109th Cong., 1st Sess (2005). Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From the American College of Physicians, Washington, DC 20006.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Costs of a National Health Information Network Rainu Kaushal , David Blumenthal , Eric G. Poon , Ashish K. Jha , Calvin Franz , Blackford Middleton , John Glaser , Gilad Kuperman , Melissa Christino , Rushika Fernandopulle , Joseph P. Newhouse , David W. Bates , and Electronic Health Records and the National Health Information Network: Affordable, Adoptable, and Ready for Prime Time? Peter Basch National Health Information Network Cost and Structure James M. Kretz National Health Information Network Cost and Structure Michael M. Rothkopf and Herschel S. Jackson National Health Information Network Cost and Structure Rainu Kaushal , David W. Bates , and David Blumenthal National Health Information Network Cost and Structure Robert H. Dolin and Andrew M. Wiesenthal Metrics 17 January 2006Volume 144, Issue 2Page: 145KeywordsConflicts of interestHealth information technologyInformation technologyLegislationMedicareMotivation ePublished: 17 January 2006 Issue Published: 17 January 2006 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2006 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...