The federal government is currently offering medical practices major financial incentives for adopting electronic health records, but the benefits won't last forever, National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal said in a recent interview.
Speaking with CMIO Magazine, he said that the entire medical community is heading toward wider use of technology. Practices will have to begin using tools like electronic health records at some point, and that time might as well be now, while there are incentives available, he said.
"It's all a matter of timing," Blumenthal told the news source. "[The] federal government is making a one-time offer. We'll put money on the table to help you now but we're not going to put money on the table later. And that's going to influence thinking of lots of physicians."
He added that the future of health IT might be more technical and demanding, and that getting in at an early stage may help make future transitions easier for providers.
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the government has made up to $20 billion available to providers that comply with the meaningful use rule for electronic health records.