President Obama's Georgetown Speech Offers Hope

One of Obama's "five pillars" is health care reform. A pillar of health care reform could be said to be EMR software in every physician's office – a surefire cost-saving measure.

On Tuesday, April 14 2009, President Barack Obama offered a message
of hope at Georgetown University. He did warn of a period of future
economic hardship for Americans, but also praised "signs of hope" in
the national economy which were the result, in large measure, of his
administration's $787-billion economic stimulus legislation, which has
already "spurred consumer demand" and partially restored the flow of
credit so crucial to businesses. "By no means are we out of the woods
just yet. But from where we stand, for the very first time, we are
beginning to see glimmers of hope," Obama said, "And beyond that, way
off in the distance, we can see a vision of America's future that is
far different than our troubled economic past." Obama's vision won't be
established on the shifting sands of Clinton & Bush-era
deregulatory fiscal policies, but instead be anchored on something
firmer. He alluded to Jesus and the deity's Sermon on the Mount, found
in the Bible. "We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand.
We must build our house upon a rock," Obama said, and he wasn't
necessarily referring to the first Pope. The rock-buttressed foundation
the President referred to will have "five pillars." One of them is
especially pertinent: Enacting his health care reforms to lower costs
for families and businesses.

U.S. health care remains beset with problems. Spiraling costs have
removed the safety net of health insurance from forty-eight million
Americans, while millions more are left in a gray category of
"under-insured," a precarious predicament that leaves patients in
sometimes equally dire straits. Those who are insured may receive care,
but it's often compromised. Inefficient and potentially lethal in
itself, without the reassuring presence of state-of-the-art EMR
software systems, antiquated systems of record-keeping and data
collection hold sway – likely placing additional millions at risk while
contributing mightily to cost increases that seem to never quit.
President Obama's health care reform package promises big changes for
the better in its mandate: U.S. physicians must begin using EMR systems
to process their patient data by 2014. In fact, January 1, 2011, is the
day essential and long-overdue reform truly begins – as stimulus
reimbursement for EMR package purchases kicks off on that super day.
But the timing is urgent. It's now, in 2009, that proactive physicians
and hospitals will begin the "gold rush" toward cost savings and
efficiency in ever increasing numbers, despite a persistent recession.
There's also the 80% usage rate to consider, and it's prudent to
remember that the mandate calls for this viable percentage to be a
fixture and to be in effect – learning curve windows on EMR packages
are conservatively 3-6 months. So yes, as another Easter passes there
is hope for the U.S. health care industry – perhaps more than a mere
glimmer.

David York is with Fox Meadows, a provider of electronic medical
records software, EMR Software, and medical billing software. To learn
more about electronic medical records, emr software, medical billing software visit Foxmeadows.com.