The document discusses the origins and requirements of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which provides $19.2 billion in incentives for healthcare providers to adopt electronic medical records (EMRs). The act requires EMRs to be certified and demonstrate meaningful use, though these terms are still being defined. While some hospitals have implemented basic EMR functions, full integrated systems have only been adopted by 1.5% of US hospitals. The challenges of implementing complex EMR systems that can exchange and integrate data both within and between healthcare organizations are discussed.