The 2012 Presidential campaign season is just heating up, but already some experts are thinking about the ways the race could impact the nation’s pursuit of a fully networked healthcare system that is capable of using electronic health records to their fullest potential.
While the current resident of the White House, Barack Obama, is clearly willing to support government efforts to kickstart adoption of electronic health records, the positions of potential Republican candidates are less clear.
Healthcare IT News reports that Newt Gingrich has a strong track record of favoring technologies like electronic health records. In 2003, he founded the Center for Health Transformation, which works toward supporting the use of technology in healthcare.
Additionally, the news source points out that in creating a nearly universal care system during his time as Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney dealt with many issues currently facing the heatlhcare system, including the use of electronic health records.
However, the support of other candidates may be less assured. Several potential runners, including Michelle Backmann, the current congresswoman from Minnesota, have announced a strong commitment to cutting budgets. While they have yet to specifically address heatlhcare IT, government programs may be affected by their policies.