The time is now for today's healthcare leaders to advocate a new vision by preparing their facilities to accommodate new technologies. We estimate that in the near future, if a healthcare facility has not implemented electronic medical records with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's safeguards- and the data center and infrastructure to support it - the government and healthcare industry will mandate compliance, on their schedule.

The government is faced with the projection that by 2014 the United States will spend 18.7 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare. This translates to a staggering $3.6 trillion annually. While the current...