At the President's Table
The inauguration is more than a month away, but President-elect Barack Obama is already making HIT a major policy focus. Last Saturday, Obama announced that HIT development will be included in the economic stimulus plan he intends to put into effect as soon as the new administration takes over.
According to reports, Obama plans to introduce a broadband initiative to get schools and other institutions-including hospitals-more wired. Widespread adoption of EHRs, which Obama championed during his campaign and continues to stress during the transition period, will help America's health system go digital. Obama said EHRs will ultimately improve patient safety and save billions of dollars, according to reports. HIT adoption has been lagging, so Obama's pre-inaugural vow to funnel funds toward health care may be a much-needed boost to the struggling sector.
In true Obama fashion, the President-elect is asking average Joes (perhaps even the plumber) for input on health care reform. During a health care summit in Denver last Friday, Sen. Tom Daschle, lead health advisor for Obama's transition team and incoming Secretary of Health and Human Services, encouraged Americans to discuss ideas for reform and send suggestions to the transition team, the Denver Post reported. From Dec. 15 to Dec. 30, health care advocates and inquisitors alike can participate in community discussions about America's health system and how to improve it. Ideas can be submitted to Obama's transition team at http://www.change.gov/, where you can also sign up to host a community meeting.
I took the liberty to peruse the Web site, and it's chockfull of blogs, videos and, as promised, plenty of opportunities to voice your opinion. The site boasts a bunch of background information, too, on anything from Obama's childhood to the new administration's health care goals.
From candidate Facebook groups to the general election's YouTube debates, "user-generated" has become the political technique du jour for reaching out and drawing in the American public. And with Obama's high-tech site, citizens having a place at the cyber table may bode well for HIT progress.
As an HIM professional well-versed in the joys and travails of HIT, what are your thoughts on the community discussions? Do you think they'll be productive? Would you attend a discussion in your town? What suggestions would you make to help Obama's HIT initiatives along?