Now that the debate over healthcare reform is settled, health IT leaders are looking forward to proceeding with efforts to implement tools such as EHRs to bring greater quality and efficiency to the delivery of care.

Dave Roberts, the vice president of government relations at the Healthcare and Information Management Systems Society, said that funding for the meaningful use program, which is the main driver behind the nation's efforts to achieve networked care, was never in doubt. Still, there are a number of other health IT matters bound up in the Affordable Care Act.

With the ruling by the Supreme Court that the law is constitutional, healthcare leaders can now continue working on health IT initiatives with greater assurance.

"Now that the uncertainty around ACA has been settled, it is critical that we continue the momentum to transform healthcare, including the use of information technology," Roberts said.

He added that even as contentious debate has raged over big-picture healthcare issues, health IT programs have largely enjoyed bipartisan support in recent years. He is looking for this support to continue.