The Stage Two Meaningful Use timetable has been pushed back, which was probably not a significant surprise.  Anyone with a lick of IT implementation experience could see from the beginning that the schedule was highly aggressive.  This plan called for the complete IT-enablement of an industry that makes up a big chunk of the world's largest economy.  Pressure to relax the requirements started from Day One and now appear to have prevailed.

Here it might be worth taking a look back at the historical context for the entire Meaningful Use idea.

Recall that the HITECH EHR subsidy program was not part of the ObamaCare healthcare overhaul, though I am sure there was an eye to that end.  Instead, HITECH was part of the stimulus package passed earlier.  The intent of that legislation was to motive some spending that would help pull the economy out of the ditch and prompt some new hiring.

The early assessment of HITECH's plan was that it just might work, in stimulus terms.  The schedule was front loaded, requiring physicians and hospitals to move very fast in order to get their subsidy.  And they had to spend their own money first, with the reimbursement coming later.  Maybe, this idea could achieve the coveted DC 'two-fer' by stimulating the economy and retrofitting healthcare for a more productive future at the same time.

Unfortunately, the enticement of $44,000 dollars ran into the physics of change.  It turns out the change process has to run its natural course and that takes time.  It did not respond to bribery, at least not as fast as was hoped.