President launches push for electronic records; funds for project still in question

Bush wants most Americans to have an EMR within a decade.

By Markian Hawryluk, AMNews staff. May 17, 2004.

Washington -- The time has come to bring medical records into the 21st century, says President Bush.

In a speech before the American Assn. of Community Colleges in April, Bush set a 10-year goal of getting most Americans a personal electronic health record that could be accessed and added to by physicians and health practitioners with the patient's authorization.

"The system is antiquated," Bush said. "They should have personal electronic medical files available that accurately and securely keep a patient's medical history."

The president described a secure electronic record that could be accessed online and would include the patients' medical history, prescription information and other vital data. The record could be a basis for transmitting diagnostic imaging, laboratory test results and electronic prescriptions.

Bush plans to name a national health information technology coordinator within the Health and Human Services Dept. to manage the effort. He promised that the federal government would finalize standards for electronic health records by year's end.

"The federal government has got to take the lead in order to make this happen by developing technical standards," Bush said. "Docs talk different languages in different offices, and to have uniformity, there needs to be standards available."

The announcement was greeted with much applause from physicians and health groups, although many expressed concerns about how the plan would come to fruition. "It's great news that the president is promoting this," said American Medical Association Trustee Joseph M. Heyman, MD. "This is a real important development in health care."