It's 5 minutes 2 midnight (read to bottom of post): This video shows Bill Clinton at his best. He simply has no living equal when it comes to getting at the heart of the matter on a policy question. Here's the $$ quote (paraphrasing):
Historically, everyone that has ever bet against America has been wrong. Why? Because we always knew when it was five minutes to midnight and managed to make the right decision.
This is Clinton's riff from a famous quote by Winston Churchill (again paraphrasing):
Americans always find a way to do the right thing, after exhausting every other possible alternative.
I wouldn't bet against America on healthcare, not because of some US government takeover of the health care system (a meme that is pure fiction), but rather because we STILL HAVE the most resilient entrepreneurial economy that the planet has ever known. I have written often about how American health care entrepreneurs will rise to the occasion and that we are going to innovate our way out of this health care mess. Why? Because 16% of GDP is unsustainable and we will bankrupt the future of our children and our grandchildren if we don't fix it.
I was recently asked at a conference Q&A session if the EHR incentives of the HITECH Act would provide enough of an ROI to get providers to move? My long answer was NO. But if laggard providers don't believe that nimble competitors at this very moment are plotting their demise, then they don't understand that this is not your daddy's health care industry any longer, and yes it's 5 minutes to midnight and a bet against American ingenuity is a losing bet.
Check out a FREE EHR Checklist. For more information on healthcare innovation and the HITECH / HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules go to The HIPAA Survival Guide website or sign up for Digital Business Law Group's free monthly compliance newsletter.
Note: We will start conducting HITECH / HIPAA Risk Management Webinars beginning in January, 2010 that may also be of interest. These webinars will be managed as a forum of "round-table" discussions on the pertinent issues, with many opportunities for audience participation and questions. Our intention is to bring these complex issues down to a practical level with guidance for attendees.
