With an upbeat 2011 on the books, experts believe that the year ahead will play a pivotal role in determining the ultimate success or failure of the government's health IT initiatives.

Higher numbers of physicians adopted electronic health records last year than many experts predicted. For this reason, ONC representatives have been touting the year as a major success in recent meetings.

However, officials admitted that a significant portion of physicians who attested to meaningful use in 2011 were early adopters - doctors who were already using EHRs before the incentive program was drawn up, according to Fierce EMR. Figuring out how to carry over this success to get more physicians who are not currently using EHRs to adopt a system will be central to the work ahead.

"We're working very closely with the market and providers to say what kind of training, education and technical assistance do you need," head of CMS' Office of eHealth Standards and Services Robert Tagalicod told the news source.

CMS recently reported that it has already paid out $2.5 billion in incentive payments. Interest appears to be strong among many physicians, but getting a greater percentage of physicians to complete EHR implementation will be necessary to satisfy more of the goals of the incentive program, including higher rates of electronic data sharing.