In a major speech on Jan. 8 to push his forthcoming economic stimulus package, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to have all medical records electronic within five years.
"To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its costs, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized," Obama said. "This will cut waste, eliminate red tape and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests. But it just won't save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs, it will save lives by reducing the deadly but preventable medical errors that pervade our health care system."
Obama did not specify the level of support the federal government would give to help providers automate medical records. During the presidential campaign, he pledged to commit $50 billion over five years to support adoption of standards-based information systems and the national health information network.
--Joseph Goedert
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