GE Announces Loans for Electronic Medical Records

GE Healthcare today launched Stimulus Simplicity, a new financing and product-certification program that will offer zero percent interest loans to physicians’ offices, hospitals, clinics, and other organizations. The concept is to help them cover investments in electronic medical records (EMRs). It’s the first concrete offering in the GE’s much-publicized “healthyimagination” initative, a $6 billion investment the company is making into creating low-cost, easily accessible healthcare products and services. The company will offer $100 million in loans.

A lack of capital to invest in new EMR systems is widely cited on physicians’ blogs and online message boards as the main barrier for doctors’ and smaller hospitals’ adoption of digital records. While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides for federal stimulus funds to help pay for EMR systems, this money won’t be available until 2011. GE’s Stimulus Simplicity offering is meant to bridge the gap. For those who qualify for the loans, which are being offered via GE Capital, no interest will be due until 2012.