×

SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




 
TMCnet News Room

July 22, 2009

Surgeon General Pick to Boost Healthcare Technology Efforts


President Barack Obama’s recent choice for U.S. surgeon general will put a needed spotlight on the growing healthcare technology industry, experts are telling TMCnet.



 
Obama last week announced Dr. Regina Benjamin, a family physician in Alabama, as his pick to be the nation’s next surgeon general. The 52-year-old is the founder of a rural health clinic that serves the impoverished community of Bayou La Batre, Ala. Since the fall of 2007, Rear Adm. Steven Galson, a doctor who previously directed the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, has been the acting surgeon general.

               
Benjamin, pictured below, has been recognized for her efforts to rebuild the clinic three times after it was first destroyed by Hurricane George in 1998, and then by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The clinic was later damaged by a fire, but was once again rebuilt. Yet in the midst of those disasters, Benjamin’s clinic made strides to update the facility, taking steps to convert paper medical records into an electronic form. 

And it’s that forward-thinking that will help propel the healthcare technology industry, Thomas M. Leary senior director of federal affairs for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, an industry group that focuses on healthcare and information technology, told TMCnet in an interview.
 
“The surgeon general has the attention of the American public,” Leary said. “Dr. Benjamin can help educate the American public on the important role HIT solutions can play in improving their access to quality and affordable care.”
 
The HIMSS became acquainted with Benjamin through the HIMSS Katrina Phoenix Project, an initiative that assisted practices, which had paper-based medical records destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, digitally rebuild them with electronic health records.  The organization gave Benjamin’s clinic a $5,000 grant through the HIMSS Foundation to use toward hardware and affiliated services to help the staff transition from paper to electronic records.
 
Leary said Benjamin has the background, professionally and personally, to understand the importance of implementing such HIT solutions.
 
“She has first-hand experience of how natural disasters can have a devastating impact on care settings when medical records are washed away or destroyed in a fire,” Leary said of Benjamin. “She also has the experience of bringing real-time HIT solutions to rural and underserved populations. These are experiences that will translate well to her role as surgeon general.”
 
The proposed creation of an electronic medical health record system is a critical issue the Obama administration hopes to address as part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package. The plan includes $19 billion for such a system, TMCnet reported.
 
And when it comes to the use of healthcare IT and patient care in underserved areas, Benjamin’s experience will play a key role, Leary said.
 
“HIMSS and our healthcare community colleagues are adamant about ensuring everyone receives the benefit of HIT solutions,” he said. “Dr. Benjamin's understanding of rural and underserved populations will ensure all communities, including the most vulnerable, receive the benefits HIT can provide to quality and cost-effective care delivery.”
 
Benjamin is no stranger to the spotlight.  In 2002, she became the first African-American woman in the United States to be president of the Alabama Medical Association, a state medical society. In September, she was one of 25 recipients of the $500,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius awards.”
 
In nominating Benjamin, Obama said she “represents what’s best about health care in America — doctors and nurses who give and care and sacrifice for the sake of their patients,” the New York Times reported. “Through floods and fires and severe want Regina Benjamin has refused to give up.”
 
Yet, there are critics to Obama’s surgeon general appointee. The full-figured Benjamin has come under fire recently for being overweight. As a possible choice for surgeon general, some critics have argued that Benjamin is sending the wrong message. According to the surgeon general's Web site, the official's main job is to be "a highly recognized symbol" of the nation's health agencies.
 
But Leary, a Benjamin supporter, said the nominee is well-suited for the job.
 
“In our experience, she has the professional, educational, and personal background to serve as the surgeon general and to articulate strong HIT public policy positions to the American public,” Leary said of Benjamin.
 
The position of surgeon general requires Senate confirmation.
 
 

Amy Tierney is a Web editor for TMCnet, covering unified communications, telepresence, IP communications industry trends and mobile technologies. To read more of Amy's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jessica Kostek




Watch Video here


More Feature Articles








Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: [email protected].
Comments about this site: [email protected].

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2024 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy