Editor's Corner

This week sees three important new healthcare policy developments. For starters, the federal government is about to add a little more money to the pie used to promote EMRs. Also, the new Medicare Part D drug benefit is up and running--with some glitches--but that's to be expected. Finally, last year's budget vote cuts Medicaid and gives states the freedom to fairly radically change their Medicaid programs, including imposing user fees and deductibles. In the light of these big dollar changes, a couple hundred million for EMRs may not seem like much. But the important thing to realize is that the expectations for healthcare IT are very high. The introduction of the EMR and the NHIN is supposed to be the lubrication that gets the engine of healthcare working properly, and at the moment that is the main thrust of health policy. - Matthew

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