U.S. health data czar sees role for government hand

Electronic health records need a nudge from the government if the technology is to become widespread, the nation's new health information technology czar said. "It is clear that this field has not advanced (enough) ... when left exclusively to the private sector so there is a public role," said David Blumenthal, MD, head of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.