As a precursor to President Obama’s healthcare law, lawmakers much more readily embraced a less partisan and controversial healthcare idea. The mass adoption of electronic health records was part of the 2009 stimulus package that many people liked on both sides of the aisle. It would become a key concept within the context of healthcare reform.

There were some concerns about medical privacy, but on paper, electronic medical records made sense. As long as doctors needed to keep and share information on patients’ health, why not put it in a format that makes the process simpler and quicker?