The United States needs to get serious about healthcare IT, C. Peter Waegemann, CEO of the Medical Records Institute, will tell attendees at TEPR 2006, which kicks off in Baltimore this week.

In his opening remarks, Waegemann will unveil strategies and introduce computer-guided and supported medicine that he says will revolutionize the process for all practitioners.

Citing the Institute of Medicine and calls by Presidents Clinton and Bush for health information technology adoption, he said, “We need to get beyond the lip service and identify strategies and what we have learned in the last 25 years in the United States and internationally – in the U.K.”

The focus on electronic medical records, which he said is easy to understand for lay people and helps to engage patients, is just an output of the bigger picture of computer-guided and supported medicine.

“We hope computer-guided and supported medicine will be a new call for all stakeholders,” he said.

That said, he emphasized that it is irresponsible for anyone – parents, children, elderly people – to not have a copy of his or her electronic health record and manage it.

In the past, return on investment for HIT adoption was not clear. Now, Waegemann said, “We can clearly identify the benefits. There is no reason to wait. It’s the only way to go.”

He noted that industry conferences, featuring celebrities and healthcare leaders, have not gone beyond touting EMRs. TEPR 2006 will be different, according to Waegemann, because of the conference’s call for a true revolution and its tangible strategies for leading the way.

Spending substantial amounts of money to educate patients and all stakeholders not involved in the past, and reaching outside the medical community to show that providing computer-guided and supported medicine at the point of care will make a big impact on patient safety and lowering the cost of care, he said.

“It takes courage to say what’s wrong with the current system, and I want to be that person,” Waegemann said.