Since the 60s, an electronic medical record system has been used, in order to simplify and make easier the access to medical records of many patients. In recent years, the goal of providing high quality medical service led the Government to enact the ARRA, which stands for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, that contains financialincentives for those physicians and hospitals that adop the Electronic Health Records or EHR system.
It basically works by distributing a series of bonuses throughout physicians and hospitals who show they are using the EHR to increase the quality of the treatments they are providing to patients, and it is expected that this program would distribute over $30 billion after it was adopted in 2009.
