In a recent interview with American Medical News, National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal discussed timetables for electronic health record adoption and the generation gap between older and younger users of the technology.

EHR Timetables

Blumenthal said federal officials are promoting EHR adoption in an effort to meet President Obama’s goal of providing all U.S. residents with an EHR by 2014.

He added that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT also is working under the time frame of the federal economic stimulus law, which imposes penalties on health care providers who do not adopt health IT tools by 2015.

Blumenthal acknowledged that many physicians have concerns about the pace of the EHR adoption timelines. He said ONC is “very aware that we need to find a balance between our long-term goals of using electronic health records to improve practice and the practical realities of everyday medicine.”

Blumenthal said his office will continue to solicit and consider stakeholder feedback on EHR timetables and other issues.

Health IT Generation Gap

In addition, Blumenthal spoke about generational differences in technology use among health care providers. He said many younger physicians are comfortable with EHRs and expect to use IT systems that connect them with colleagues and comprehensive medical data. However, he said older physicians might have less experience with the technology”

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