What exactly was the purpose of the HITECH Act?

The question may seem a bit odd, at best, to most HIT stakeholders, but it still seems worth asking, on occasion, especially when a story emerges that reminds us that HITECH was in fact part of a giant economic stimulus bill.

Take, for example, this new report from the IT trade association CompTIA.

Reportedly, the group “contends that the HITECH Act . . . isn't focused on providing opportunities for smaller IT firms to assist medical providers in their move to health IT.”

Wait, was it supposed to be? Indeed, was it supposed to be focused on providing opportunities for IT firms of any size?

Now, we’d agree that legislation as far-reaching as HITECH needs to be neutral when it comes to the matter of what size firms can potentially benefit from it, so if HITECH actually causes barriers to smaller firms, then steps should be taken to eliminate them.

But the CompTIA report seems to want more. In particular, one of its goals is “a uniform and standard process for all RECs to provide referrals, outreach and communication to healthcare providers so that smaller local IT firms--not just large products and services--are also listed on the menu of available (services within a) region to implement e-health records and other systems.”

So far so good, as it only makes sense that a list of that nature would be comprehensive.

But then one of the report’s co-authors notes that “products and service offerings sold by larger health IT vendors sometimes aren't geared to the needs of smaller medical providers--especially those with limited budgets. So, by ensuring that smaller IT firms are listed in REC referrals, smaller healthcare providers have access to a wider pool of services firms they might not otherwise know about.”

That’s one way of looking at it. Another way is to suggest that the inability of large IT vendors to fill the needs of smaller medical providers is an economic opportunity for smaller IT vendors to pursue, regardless of whether or not they’re included on a REC’s referral list. Isn’t that what product marketing strategy is all about?

The point is, despite the fact that HITECH emerged from an economic stimulus package, we’d suggest its primary purpose is to help providers move across the digital frontier. It should certainly be structured in a way that doesn’t favor one or another sector of the HIT economy, but consciously venturing beyond that point will only serve to dilute the program’s focus.

It’s providers who need the help. Let businesses compete freely, and as fairly as possible, for the resulting economic opportunities.