It was additional reinforcement for his pro-EMR position as if any was needed. In his remarks of May 11, 2009, he emphasized once again how essential healthcare reform is to America. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt three generations before him, President Obama's plans are ambitious, but necessary, not only to right an ailing economy, but to establish a foundation of stability for the future. The President recognized a clear, indisputable fact: When it comes to healthcare spending, "we are on an unsustainable course that threatens the financial stability of families, businesses, and government itself." Prior to making his timely remarks, the President had just concluded an "extraordinarily productive" meeting with organizations that "are going to be essential to the work of healthcare reform in this country." But what he had to say about EMR software solutions was perhaps most telling. "We are computerizing medical records in a way that will protect our privacy." In that single sentence is a pronouncement for a more sustainable future. If EMR solutions can become pervasive enough to become the rule rather than the exception at U.S. hospitals and at tens of thousands of physician offices nationwide, his ambitious plan just may work. It won't be magical. Between now and January 1, 2011, when the floodgates to accept EMR reimbursement stimulus funds will officially open up, an unprecedented opportunity exists for physicians and hospitals to realign their mindsets and embrace a digital way of thinking. While a certain comfort level might exist in the tangible nature of paper trail-fed patient records, and in writing prescriptions with a scrawled and often illegible script, it is no longer feasible to rely on such outmoded, costly methods. User-friendly digital recordkeeping becoming ubiquitous will make a huge difference. But procrastination is not in order. If physicians choose to delay implementation of EMR software packages by putting off their selection processes, the stresses of a learning curve made essential by long overdue healthcare reform may well become untenable. This kind of stress is avoidable. Physicians, it's time to act. Digital recordkeeping is inevitable. The time to select and implement your EMR software solution is not yesterday, it is today.
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