Well, here is the market at its best.  Computer makers, software developers and mass retailers aligning to service an industry that they have each been only peripherally involved in. If successful it could mark a new model for initiation, implementation and integration of e-health and HIT (health information technology) solutions and advances into medical practice.  This site welcomes the likes of Dell, Wal-Mart and eClinicalWorks to this collaborative effort.  Time will tell if it will be successful, but this site is hopeful.  American ingenuity is still the best and by linking areas of expertise, we can solve the HIT problem in ways that the government cannot foresee or ever develop . . . obi jo

Wal-Mart to offer lower-priced electronic medical records system.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning to sell computer systems for keeping electronic medical records to small doctor groups who have shied away from the programs because of their high cost. Along with”computer maker Dell Inc. and closely held software maker eClinicalWorks, Wal-Mart will offer a lower-priced medical records system, plus installation and maintenance, through its Sam’s Club membership warehouses. Physicians would direct their follow-up questions about the system to Sam’s Club, which would then be routed to the appropriate person at Dell or eClinicalWorks. The system will be made available at the clubs in the spring for $25,000 for the first installed system, and $10,000 for each additional system, plus $4,000 to $5,000 a year in maintenance costs.  Currently, fewer than 20% of US physicians use electronic medical records, and many complain about the upfront costs for small practices, but, Wal-Mart believes it could shave somewhere between 30 to 50% off the cost, currently estimated at $124,000 for a single doctor to upgrade to electronic health records over 5 years. Instead, the cost would be closer to $44,000, the maximum in incentive payments available to single-practice physicians, using Wal-Mart’s system.

READ: Sam’s Club to Provide Digital Medical Tools @ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123681683265602347.html

READ: Wal-Mart to enter medical records digitization market @ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ivLQYwX-Ho5c8TAteuu0Q4ZcA7KQ

READ: Behind Wal-Mart’s E-Health Records Plans @ http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/03/behind_walmarts.html

INFO LINK @ http://instoresnow.walmart.com/Wellness-Center.aspx

INFO LINK @ http://www.avalerehealth.net/

INFO LINK @ http://www.eclinicalworks.com/

INFO LINK @ http://www.dell.com/content/topics/reftopic.aspx/bsd/odg/13263_search_generic_hsb?c=us&cs=&l=en&s=gen&ST=dell&dgc=ST&cid=16010&lid=380485