For small health clinics and private medical practices looking to collect money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an IT expert believes that shifting to cloud computing in the form of SaaS is imperative when the government begins awarding the funds in 2011.

SaaS can be implemented quickly and for minimal start-up costs as small medical operations look to update their IT operations without shifting too much focus from their practice and medical obligations, according to ZDNetSome small practices rely on larger hospitals for their health IT, but too much reliance can often strip independent clinics of that freedom that they desire.

"Personally I am still waiting for the glorious tech revolution to strike the doctors I use most often. My pediatrician has a PC on his desk to help with billing, but the kids' records are still on paper. My internist is also paper driven," Dana Blankenhorn wrote for ZDNet.

The Obama administration stated earlier in the year that it hopes to have all medical records automated by 2014. The San Diego Business Journal reported that certain leaders in the health care industry believe that electronic medical records will provide Americans with better care.ADNFCR-2553-ID-19656072-ADNFCR