EMR - Where are we and what's in it

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act has pushed the EMR agenda into reality. An interesting handshake between Walmart, eCW and Dell is worth noting (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/business/11record.html?_r=4&hp).
Walmart plans to team its Sam’s Club division with Dell for computers and eClinicalWorks. Wal-Mart says its package deal of hardware, software, installation, maintenance and training will make the technology more accessible and affordable, undercutting rival health information technology suppliers by as much as half.The Sam’s Club offering, to be made available this spring, will be under $25,000 for the first physician in a practice, and about $10,000 for each additional doctor. After the installation and training, continuing annual costs for maintenance and support will be $4,000 to $6,500 a year, the company estimates. Wal-Mart says it had explored the opportunity in health information technology long before the presidential election. About 200,000 health care providers, mostly doctors, are among Sam Club’s 47 million members.The company’s test bed for the technology it will soon offer physicians has been its own health care clinics, staffed by third-party physicians and nurses. Started in September 2006, 30 such clinics are now in stores in eight states. The clinics use the technology Wal-Mart will offer to physicians

How ready is the heatlhcare sector in terms of EMR adoption: A quick preview from HIMSSanalytics.org (The State of U.S. Hospitals Relative to Achieving Meaningful Use Measurements By Michael W. Davis Executive Vice President – HIMSS Analytics)