Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Obama Healthcare Plan
I am glad to see President Obama taking such an aggressive lead in doing something about the crisis in healthcare in the US. If nothing more is done than to start a truly meaningful dialog, it will be a good start. One of the key components the President has encouraged is the use of electronic medical records (EMR) to streamline operations and reduce costs. While this sounds good, it has to be remembered that implementing an EMR is not like implementing a new version of Windows.
Some years ago I put together a white paper called "From Zero to GUI" in which I detailed the process of implementing the first phase of an EMR - any EMR. Some of the larger companies, such as GE have been on-board with EMR long before President Obama was sworn in. Other organizations such as the VistA Software Alliance and World VistA have been pushing for an open-source EMR solution for quite some time. These open-source solutions are based on the proven EMR used by the VA hospitals nationwide, which are also the basis for the DOD system, and the system used by the Indian Health Service.
Getting something done about the healthcare crisis is necessary, but I believe we need to set about establishing a good foundation before we start. In the coming weeks, we will explore some of, what I believe are, the foundational principles behind our need for healthcare reform. One thing is certain - treating this problem like so many others by throwing large sums of Federal money at it is not the answer.
Some years ago I put together a white paper called "From Zero to GUI" in which I detailed the process of implementing the first phase of an EMR - any EMR. Some of the larger companies, such as GE have been on-board with EMR long before President Obama was sworn in. Other organizations such as the VistA Software Alliance and World VistA have been pushing for an open-source EMR solution for quite some time. These open-source solutions are based on the proven EMR used by the VA hospitals nationwide, which are also the basis for the DOD system, and the system used by the Indian Health Service.
Getting something done about the healthcare crisis is necessary, but I believe we need to set about establishing a good foundation before we start. In the coming weeks, we will explore some of, what I believe are, the foundational principles behind our need for healthcare reform. One thing is certain - treating this problem like so many others by throwing large sums of Federal money at it is not the answer.
