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That was fast

Barack Obama has been president for just about three hours now, and already the White House Web site has been completely made over. Here’s Obama’s healthcare agenda. Notice that it contains not a word about technology on this page.

However, healthcare is mentioned as part of the technology agenda. This part looks unchanged from the campaign, at least so far: “Use health information technology to lower the cost of health care. Invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records.”

Note, though, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) said last week that the economic stimulus plan would include $20 billion for health IT. I’m not entirely clear whether this money would be spent this year or even if it “counts” toward the $50 billion Obama wants over the next five years.

Toast the new president today, but tomorrow will be time to get to work.

What can’t wait for tomorrow is Chilmark Research‘s offer of free downloads of the executive summary of its May 2008 “iPHR Market Report.” Chilmark said yesterday that the document will be free for 24 hours. The post does not say when the clock started ticking, but I’m going to guess and say you’d better get your downloading in before close of business on the east coast, since Chilmark is in Cambridge, Mass.

January 20, 2009 I Written By

I'm a freelance healthcare journalist, specializing in health IT, mobile health, healthcare quality fast $5000 loans-cash.net with bad credit, hospital/physician practice management and healthcare finance.

An inaugural first

Let the record show that new President Barack Obama mentioned health IT in his inaugural address today. It had become a point of pride in health IT circles that President George W. Bush had mentioned the need for technology to improve healthcare in the last four State of the Union addresses, but today marks the first time it’s been the part of a presidential inauguration.

From the text of Obama’s speech as he actually delivered it, according to the AP/Yahoo transcription:

The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

I Written By

I'm a freelance healthcare journalist, specializing in health IT, mobile health, healthcare quality fast $5000 loans-cash.net with bad credit, hospital/physician practice management and healthcare finance.