Abstract
The infusion of federal money into a planned nationwide electronic health record (EHR) system gives one a perfect reason to become more active in planning for the near-term changes, and opportunities, in your region's health care marketplace. The drive toward a "medical information highway" by 2014 will provide ways for medical practices to upgrade their EHR, and, more importantly, give you the motivation to plan how best to integrate your practice into the enhanced information-sharing network that EHR will create. The next generation co-management train is already loading on the express track, as organizations at the local, regional, and state-wide level are now setting up regional health information organizations, as not-for-profit entities to organize provider/end users of the medical information Internet. With the movement toward funding of EHR, medical practices will have a unique opportunity to find common ground with hospitals and begin to plan for the future.
