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Legislation pending in the U.S. House that would provide loan guarantees to help physicians purchase electronic health records systems "would be a superb adjunct to the provisions contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," a family practitioner recently testified before Congress.

Sterling Ransone, M.D., of Deltaville, Va., was representing the American Academy of Family Physicians when he spoke before the House Small Business subcommittee on finance and tax. The organization supports H.R. 3014 introduced in the House. The bill would guarantee up to 90% of loans of up to $350,000 for individuals and $2 million for group practices. It also would permit a loan repayment deferral period of one to three years. That's important, Ransone said, because it took two years for his practice to match the level of productivity it had before implementing an EHR.

"I have a friend in solo practice who employs only one nurse and one administrator in his three exam room office," Ransone told lawmakers. "Since my physician friend is highly aware of the benefits of HIT, he undertook a serious review of the available EHRs to find one that was both affordable and appropriate for his practice. Unfortunately, despite his due diligence, he came to the reluctant conclusion that, at this time, he simply could not afford to make the investment. My friend is precisely the individual this bill would target: a physician with a keen interest in adding HIT to his office, but one that also must face the realities of running a small business. Passage of this bill could help him purchase HIT and take advantage of its benefits."

Text of H.R. 3014 is available at congress.gov.

--Joseph Goedert