It is not only physician practices that are grappling with ways to pay for a move to health IT. Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO) -- now cropping up around the country to begin exchanging health data among local hospitals, physicians and insurers -- also are on the hunt for cash

Leisa Jenkins, executive director at CareSpark, an RHIO that encompasses northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia, said the organization has so far received commitments for US$2.5 million of the $4 million it needs for initial capital expenses. The group also will need $1.2 million to cover annual operating costs.

"If we can get over the capital expenditure in Year 1, we can break even in Year 2 and by Year 3 we should be able to show a 3-to-1 RIO," she said.

As part of the RHIO's business model, the group aims to show stakeholders what they can expect as far as savings based on their investment, she said.

Glenn Steele, CEO of Geisinger Health System, is no stranger to the sometimes staggering costs associated with moving to an EMR. Geisinger, which operates 40 hospitals, clinics and physician practices in Pennsylvania, has spent $70 million since 1995 to put an EMR into place at its 40 locations, according to Steele. The project began showing a return on investment after about five years. The physician practices that use the software saw a 5 percent to 10 percent reduction in productivity for the first six to eight months but later saw a marked increase in productivity, he added.