Healthy Dose of Digital

 I just read a NYTimes article that highlights how technology companies are pushing technology into the practice because there seems to be a bipartisan consensus that EMR is A-OK! Great article, here's a sample, scroll down for a link to the full version.

The goal of moving paper medical records into the digital age has been championed for years by health care policy makers across the political spectrum, from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Newt Gingrich. As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama, too, was an advocate, and the economic crisis opened the door for an ambitious step — $19 billion put into the recovery package to encourage doctors and hospitals to install and use electronic health records.

So even as the Obama administration and Congress struggle with broad health policy legislation, the technology industry is pursuing the opportunity in digital health records as never before. Although most of the government money will not start flowing until next year, the companies hoping to get their share include technology giants like General Electric, I.B.M. and the big telecommunications company, Verizon. Also in the hunt are smaller health technology specialists like Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks and Practice Fusion.

Source: Steve Lohr, Tech Companies Push to Digitize Patients’ Records, New York Times (September 10, 200) (available online here)