Healthcare IT could nab $20B from Congress

According to HealthImaging, Healthcare IT could nab $20B from Congress:

Congress could spend $20 billion on healthcare IT over the next few years, according to an economic recovery bill released last week by the House Appropriations Committee.

Under the bill, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONCHIT) in the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) would receive $2 billion and “$20 billion overall for health[care] information technology to prevent medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce cost-saving efficiencies,” according to the committee report accompanying the draft, reported Government Health IT.

The Senate is expected to draft its own language for the health IT portion of the bill.

I'm still not sure if we'll be able to spend our way out of the current economic slump, but if the government is going to spend money on infrastructure, Healthcare IT is certainly a deserving target.  And of course I have to add, digital pathology is an increasingly important part of healthcare IT :)