Last Friday an international panel convened to openly discuss the ramifications of HIT in the wake of HITECH and the experiences of other countries. Hosted by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund, the briefing welcomed prominent individuals from across the globe to share experience, insight, and caveats about the upshot of HIT as it moves inexorably from paper to digital.

ONC’s Dr. David Blumenthal cited 4 barriers to HIT adoption: inadequate funding; logistical difficulties including which system to purchase, obsolescence concerns, and implementation best practices; a lack of HIE support infrastructure; and the public need for security of health records.

A summary of Blumenthal’s comments can be found at this link.

The video of the briefing, held at Kaiser Family Foundation, can be found here and includes presentations from New Zealand, Denmark, and Sweden.

Comment below about your take on the impediments to EHR/HIE adoption. What are you worried about? What are you thrilled about? What concerns need to be addressed? Which ones aren’t so important? Let us know below.