Executives at Sage, provider of the Sage Intergy EHR integrated, interoperable electronic health records system and practice management systems for care providers and federally qualified health centers, today joined with forward-looking physicians and other ambulatory practice leaders in applauding the signing of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), which devotes more than $19 billion to bring our country's healthcare record infrastructure into the 21st century.

"ARRA is a great leap forward in encouraging physician adoption of electronic health records to help improve healthcare quality and efficiency in the United States," said Lindy Benton, Chief Operating Officer, Sage. "We commend our country's leaders in taking this bold step."

Across the nation, healthcare professionals

expressed similar thoughts on the effect ARRA will have.

Guillermo Diaz, MD, Assistant Chief Medical Officer of QueensCare Family Clinics, a large federally qualified health center serving the residents of Los Angeles, said, "Our adoption of electronic health records has helped us gain a deeper understanding of the quality of care we provide to our patients. As more doctors adopt electronic health records through the incentives provided by ARRA, I predict we'll see a corresponding rise in healthcare quality nationwide."

"Doctors and practice administrators will be pleasantly surprised by the efficiency gains afforded through EHR adoption -- even more so if they are able to leverage stimulus funds to help them do so," said Ruben R. Cardenas, Chief Operating Officer, Gonzaba Medical Group in Texas.