V.C. Firms Bullish On Health IT

Investments in health IT by venture capital firms surged in the second quarter.

Information Week reports "new figures from Dow Jones VentureSource show that venture capital investors poured $157 million into U.S. based medical software and information services companies in the second quarter of 2010 compared with $82 million during the same quarter of last year -- a 91 percent increase."

Venture capital investments are seen by some as a leading indicator of an economic sector's potential for growth.

VC firms plowed almost half the total invested, $77 million, into companies working on clinical decision support solutions. Final meaningful use rules issued last week by the Health and Human Services Department require doctors and hospitals to begin using clinical decision support tools in order to qualify for federal incentive funds set aside by Congress to spur adoption of electronic medical records.

Meanwhile, Government Health IT reports that "the Office of the National Coordinator for Health expects that there will likely be multiple organizations to test and verify electronic health record products for the temporary certification program, leading to a faster, more open and more competitive process."