The Health Affairs Web site has several perspectives on Health IT, as well as the first in a series of companion essays on what it all means. The main perspectives come from Carol Diamond of the Markle Foundation (read her guest posts on NHD here and here) and Clay Shirky of NYU, who emphasize how IT fits into health, not just the technical standards aspects, Robert Kolodner, HHS's Health IT national coordinator who updates us on federal policy, and David Kibbe of the American Academy of Family Physicians, who sums up what the private sector is doing. If you have followed this issue at all, you'll know these players, but it's a useful recap. Keep in mind that the CBO has emphasized that IT isn't a magic bullet—it's got to be used in a way that improves health and health care if it's going to reap all the savings that everybody's been talking about.

Then over at the Health Care Blog, Matthew Holt gives his views on the various not-too-subtle incentives and disincentives motivating the various IT players...