It was only just a few short months ago that health IT proponents were basking in the glow of the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included nearly $20 billion for the development and delivery of healthcare IT. The bill delivered on President Barack Obamas inaugural address promise to wield technologys wonders to raise healthcares quality and lower its cost. The halcyon honeymoon of IT providing a fix for U.S. healthcares woes look to be coming to an end. Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and Forbes magazine (among others) have cast a skeptical eye on the capability of health IT to live up to its billing. Critics are concerned that the health IT funding provisions of the ARRA will amount to little more than a tax-payer-funded giveaway to IT developers. In addition, they raise legitimate concerns about privacy as well as apprehensions about computer errors endangering patient safety.

Federal authorities have launched an investigation into the theft of patient information as part of a scheme to make fake Virginia driver's licenses by a former employee of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Hospital in Bellflower, Calif., has been fined $250,000 for unauthorized employee access to the medical records of Nadya Suleman, the woman who gave birth to octuplets in January this year.

So how are health IT projects and health IT professionals holding up in our current economic crisis? Very well, according to data and input from readers in our annual Health IT Salary Survey. IT professionals salaries are holding strong, although raises and bonuses are iffy for a few positions, so say the 400 people who contributed to this years results. Overall, IT professionals tell us theyre satisfied or very satisfied with their salaries and job.

Health Imaging & IT takes a look at eight health IT professionals to see how much they are earning, if they expect to receive a raise or bonus this year, how many FTEs they supervise, their years of experience and what departments they report to.

Although some hospitals, health systems and imaging centers are full-speed ahead with their implementation of planned IT projects, others are temporarily halting IT and other investments to weather the current economic storm. However, this doesnt mean that these facilities are shutting down their acquisition assessment and planning. In fact, its just the opposite. Healthcare decision-makers are using this purchasing hiatus to apply a value-based perspective to their technology purchases in both the near and long term.

MEDecision, a provider of collaborative healthcare management solutions, has finalized its acquisition of HxTechnologies, a health information exchange company.

Nuance Communications has released positive financial results for its fiscal 2009 second quarter, which ended March 31.