Originally Published MX November/December 2004

BUSINESS NEWS

Competing priorities always make matters difficult for government policymakers, but implementation of healthcare information technologies (IT) is getting a lot of support these days.

Newt Gingrich

One such supporter is former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich, who has found a new role in healthcare activism as founder of the Center for Health Transformation (Washington, DC). Speaking at a recent press briefing hosted by Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, PA) in New York City, Gingrich lamented the "remarkable lag" in efforts to implement IT systems in the nation's healthcare system.

"There's a huge gap between what's possible and what is currently happening," said Gingrich.