For many professionals, the summer means some time to relax and unwind before starting the busy season come September. However, health IT specialists are not those people. This summer is shaping up to be an eventful time for the health IT sector. Court rulings and federal regulations such as meaningful use requirements will likely keep hospital tech teams occupied for the next few months.

One of the biggest rulings may come at the end of June, as the Supreme Court will be releasing its opinion on whether the Obama Administration's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is constitutional.

While this legislation is not centered around the implementation of EHR systems and health IT products, many of the programs it calls for, such as health insurance exchanges and accountable care organizations, are dependent upon health IT.

If healthcare reform is found unconstitutional, then providers will need to reassess their involvement in these healthcare models. If organizations move away from these reforms, then health IT spending will be influenced.

"ACOs represent new payment models that are tied to coordination of care and quality," InformationWeek Healthcare stated. "Although some of these new ACO efforts are already up and running – in large part because of a recently launched Pioneer ACO program by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – lots of other new ACOs might get swept by the wayside."

However, the rulings that will truly impact the health IT sector this summer will be the release of meaningful use stage two final rules, set to come out in July. Since the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released preliminary guidelines for stage two in March, healthcare providers have an overall idea of what these requirements will be. Nonetheless, the public comment period may have influenced stage two rulings in a variety of ways.

Chiropractors seeking to implement EHR systems and meet stage two of meaningful use requirements may want to consider purchasing EHR software developed by a doctor of chiropractic and designed strictly for this particular healthcare sector.