But they stressed that whoever replaces David Brailer, the former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, needs to focus on showing tangible results from the effort and foster closer collaboration between the government and doctors.

Brailer was appointed by President George W. Bush in May 2004 to help lead the move from paper-based health records to electronic medical records (EMR). He was a high-profile advocate of the use of EMRs and of forging the standards and infrastructure needed to exchange them.

John Wade, CIO at Saint Luke's Health System Inc. in Kansas City, Mo. said Brailer's departure might actually speed up the move toward a national health information infrastructure (NHIN) -- if his successor pushes EMR use in more physician practices and fosters regional health networks.

Brailer did a 'spectacular job' of building awareness among the public and Congress of how big an effort the move toward EMRs is, Wade said. 'He's the one who had to be the 'standards advocate,' while at the same time navigating the political issues to gain and sustain momentum,' he said.

Still, more recently, Brailer appeared to have reached a plateau politically, Wade said. 'The time for talking is past and the time for action and getting results is now. There has to be some real results shown, at a local, state or regional level for Congress and the public to remain behind the issue.'