The year 2009 may just be the turn of a calendar page for some, but to us here at Healthcare IT News the new year represents infinite possibility.

Though our country, the healthcare system and the healthcare IT industry face daunting challenges – or perhaps because of it – we are optimistic. You know, out of crisis, opportunity; out of chaos, order.

While it was President Bush who got things rolling on the healthcare IT front when he uttered the words in his 2004 State of the Union Address, adoption has been slow for physicians and also for many hospitals.

It has not been for lack of trying. The secretaries of Health and Human Services President Bush appointed. Tommy Thompson and Michael Leavitt both were avid advocates of healthcare IT. Leavitt did yeoman’s work in steering the government, Medicare in particular, on the course of IT adoption.

He deserves credit not merely for supporting efforts, but for initiating a number of new programs that could serve as models throughout the industry, such as the Medicare PHR pilot he recently launched in Arizona and Utah.

It’s no wonder Leavitt garnered the most votes for top newsmaker in the policy category in Healthcare IT News’ annual NewsMaker poll. This year Leavitt came in second to President-elect Barack Obama. Obama was certainly in the news day in and day out. Though he is likely to build on the IT work and infrastructure that is already in place – The Office of the National Coordinator, the American Health Information Community (and its standards panel), and the Commission on Healthcare Information Technology, for example, Obama represents a fresh start for healthcare IT as he does on other fronts.

There’s something to be said for a fresh start. We believe we are in not only for a new approach, but also for a comprehensive one on the healthcare front with the creation of a White House Office for Healthcare Reform. It seems natural that Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Daschle would wear two hats – one as HHS secretary, the other as director of healthcare reform.

It signifies that healthcare reform – with IT as a cornerstone – will not be a back-burner issue.
Another indicator that healthcare IT will be on the front burner is Obama’s pledge to earmark $10 billion a year for five years in support of healthcare IT.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society recently released a blueprint for healthcare reform that calls for an investment of $25 billion in healthcare IT to help non-governmental hospitals and physician practices adopt electronic medical records.

HIMSS also proposed a White House summit on healthcare reform through information technology.
“We are convinced that moving forward with health IT now will not only be critical to ensuring sustainable positive change for consumers, but will also provide an immediate economic stimulus in the way of new jobs across the healthcare sector,” said H. Stephen Lieber, HIMSS president and CEO.

We agree. And, the White House seems ready to lead the charge.

It’s a new year, and it appears that healthcare IT is front and center. It’s time