HIMSS is lobbying to make sure that CCHIT is tied to Obama's universal health care dreams. If not CCHIT, the "certifying" body will have pretty much the same outline as CCHIT, or so it's rumored.
>>> So you can spend all the time decrying CCHIT as a "criminal enterprise." It is going to happen, and no amount of complaining is going to change that.
All I'm trying to do is to convince physicians not to buy into HITECH, and if I'm successful, then HITECH will be history. So far, if you read many of the numerous blogs on the 'net, the overall feeling is in agreement with my views, not yours. Having the Washington Post to back me up this past week has been a boon. Same goes for the multiple recent articles in the Wall Street Journal, as well as recent mention of universal health care and EMR on John Beck and O'Reilly. As a columnist in the MD Net Guide (where Jon writes on occasion, BTW), I can reach 250000 physician offices just through their print version which is fantastic.
So this is all like a chess match- Obama has the presidential power, the money, and the ability to promise several billion dollars to physicians (that he doesn't have, BTW). He is hoping that physicians are stupid enough to buy into HITECH. Those like me have the airwaves and the sentiment of the very providers that Obama needs in order to make his mandates successful. I think that we've done a pretty good job at convincing them of the fallacy of the $44000 HITECH award.
Time will tell who will win. I would bet on the bloggers and the columnists... they hold the true power.
Al
