Speaking in Boston today at the Healthcare Stimulus Exchange Roadshow, Vish Sankaran, director for the Federal Health Architecture Program, outlined his vision for the government's role in promoting broader healthcare IT adoption via the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN).

His most salient point: "We don't want the federal government to be in this business forever." The aim, he said, is for government to "raise the bar, tip the market," and then engage with the private sector to help bring the healthcare IT industry to full flower.