Electronic Health Records (EHR, EMR)

Even after $30 billion in taxpayer money spent on funding the digitization of America's healthcare system more than half of doctors view EHRs as having a negative impact on cost, efficiency and productivity.

With the new Merit-based Incentive Payment System slated to kick in during meaningful use Stage 3, some industry insiders are forecasting trouble among providers.

The use of big data and analytics tools faces many challenges, including EHRs, interoperability, data de-identification and more.

Their patience wearing thin, a group of leading hospital organizations is imploring Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell to publish pending meaningful use modifications sooner rather than later.

Several big-bucks deals and partnerships struck us recently -- not just because of their price tags, but also because they could prove to be game changers for health IT, now and far into the future. Here are nine worth watching for their effect on the industry.

The American Academy of Family Physicians has entered into an agreement with HealthFusion to offer HealthFusion's software to its 120,900 family physician members.

Texas Health Resources has appointed Joey Sudomir as senior vice president, innovative technology solutions and chief information officer.

Healthcare improvement alliance Premier will spend $400 million to acquire CECity, a privately-held, SaaS-based healthcare solutions company. Much like Premier, CECity focuses on performance management and improvement, pay-for-value reporting and professional education.

Half of primary care physicians across the country view the increasing use of quality-of-care metrics and penalties for unnecessary hospitalizations as potentially troubling for patient care.

Health Catalyst has acquired Health Care DataWorks, a company with roots in Ohio State University, and one that works on improving patient outcomes much like Health Catalyst does.