The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) established a web forum for health information technology (HIT) stakeholders to open the lines of communication and learn from each other's challenges and successes. The webpage, "Health IT Journey: Stories from the Road," currently includes articles published in professional journals, news outlets, and user stories, including one from Urban Health Plan in South Bronx, New York. It also features a piece from Dr. Russell Kohl of Green County Family Medicine in Vinita, Oklahoma. Dr. Kohl is an Air Force veteran and grew accustomed to the streamlined processes and system efficiencies of the Air Force's medical system while deployed in the Middle East. He worked with the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ) to fund the adoption of health IT at his rural, two-person practice. Dr. Kohl highlights his vendor selection process, which ultimately resulted in a system that uses a universal database technology that simplifies data extraction. The story details implementation issues and the reaction of his community. He concludes with the following recommendations:

• Establish contacts and support with other adopters
• Be 100% committed to implementation
• Funding is available and accessible
• More efficiently tracking patient care will actually result in increased practice income

The forum is a creative way to connect physicians and health care facilities and provide valuable insights on the HIT implementation journey of early adopters. This website encourages open discussion about the adoption process and fosters outreach and education. National electronic health record (EHR) adoption is reportedly hovering around 15% to 25% and is just beginning to extend beyond the early adopters group into the early majority. Continuing to engage stakeholders and address concerns regarding the learning curve, costs, and benefits will help facilitate increased adoption rates.

INPUT's Take:

As this forum continues to grow in content and participation, it will provide a candid look at provider perspectives, which will help EHR vendors better understand market needs. These insights will be valuable in understanding barriers from a technology aspect, such as user friendliness, training, and market positioning.