As Adoption Lags, Govt. Steps Up Electronic Medical Records Push

As Adoption Lags, Govt. Steps Up Electronic Medical Records Push

Abstract

As Adoption Lags, Govt. Steps Up Electronic Medical Records PushMark Moran  Next SectionThe government issues a strategic plan to have a national electronic information network in place by 2014. Since President Bush announced this goal in 2004, adoption of electronic medical records has been slow. Previous Section The federal government has issued a strategic plan for the next four years designed to speed the adoption of health information technology to meet President Bush's goal of widespread national adoption by 2014. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's report, titled “ONC-Coordinated Federal Health Information Strategic Plan, 2008-2012,” describes broad goals, objectives, and specific strategies and timelines for implementing those strategies. The plan is a sweeping blueprint for coordinating government agencies to help promote adoption of health information technology. It comes four years after Bush established a 10-year goal of achieving a national health information network. Since that time, however, physicians have been slow to adopt electronic medical records, and some leaders in the field have urged that the government take a more active role in promoting the effort (Psychiatric News, April 18). The plan outlines two broad goals: patient-focused health care and population health. Patient-focused