Healthcare Information Technology Research & Analysis : Coplan & Company : IT Procurement Management, Project Management, System Acquisition

According to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), IT Adoption Remains Low as Costs Outpace Revenue for Physicians. Physicians pay the cost for an EHR while other parties reap the benefit.

According to John Halamka:

To make the equation work, payers, hospitals, pharmacies and other beneficiaries of savings have to gainshare i.e. share the ROI with the providers. At BIDMC, I'm paying 85% of the implementation costs of EHRs for community physicians to better align incentives i.e. doctors do the work, the healthcare system benefits from care coordination and hospitals as one of those beneficiaries can subsidize costs.

I agree with this idea, but will this type of formula work industry-wide?  I fear there will be a complex formula that results in unintended consequences.  For example, the NYTimes article on The Pitfalls of Linking Doctors' Pay to Performance illustrates how a good idea can go awry, especially when trying to change human behavior.