Obama: Electronic health records for every patient by 2014

In an economic speech prior to his inauguration, President Barack Obama endorsed a goal set by the Bush administration of establishing an electronic health record for every patient by 2014.

"We will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized," Obama said in his speech delivered on January 8. In an earlier speech, Obama pledged $10 billion per year over five years toward health information technology.

The American Academy of Family Physicians praises Obama's investment pledge, but warns that EHRs alone won't greatly improve care until doctors can use them to communicate with providers that use different systems.