The push from Washington to create common standards for electronic health records has been steady, and it may be increasing soon. The biggest problem with that? There aren’t enough long-term care stakeholders getting involved.

“We in the long-term care community are going to have to pay better attention,” said Doc DeVore, director of research and development at MDI Technologies, and the leader of the electronic standards workgroup for the National Association for the Support of Long-Term Care.

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“President Bush was pretty aggressive in planning for electronic health records by 2010,” DeVore said. “What I’m seeing is even more increased pressure to make that happen. The current Congress has picked up on it.”

Providers, however, have not made their presence felt strongly enough at various industry and regulatory meetings, DeVore feels.

“The thing I’m concerned about is the lack of provider participation in the development and comment process,” he said. “Oh, some are, but I’m concerned about those providers in rural America just assuming the rest of us will take care of them. Maybe we won’t because we don’t understand their issues.”