50,000 Extra Employees Needed For Meaningful Use Criteria

JMcDaniel - 08/27/2010

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In order to meet the Meaningful Use criteria required to get government incentives for EMRs, the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT is estimating that an additional 50,000 IT employees are needed, according to a report from Fierce EMR.

The ONC estimates that the current IT workforce must increase by 50% for most healthcare providers to show meaningful use. Although the government has a program to train new technicians, the first graduates of the program will not be ready until next year - when hospitals need to apply for the first of the government funds - and there will not be nearly enough technicians available.

CSC recommends organizations look at ways to immediately meet their IT staffing needs, including using resources from within the organization, such as technicians, and outside resources, such as hiring consultants to assist physicians. What is your opinion? How much of a role should consultants play in assisting health organizations to ensure that Meaningful Use criteria is met?