States Should Seek To Encourage Adoption Of Health Care Information Technology, Report Recommends

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 25 Sep 2008 - 8:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

States should coordinate with health care providers, industry and the federal government to expand adoption of health care information technology, according to a report released on Tuesday by the State Alliance for E-Health, a panel established by the National Governors Association, CongressDaily reports.

The report recommended that states encourage the adoption of electronic prescribing, as use remains limited despite the existence of the necessary infrastructure and standards. In addition, states should consolidate and revise laws related to data privacy and security to protect the electronic exchange of medical information, according to the report. The report also praised federal officials for the implementation of various programs that seek to establish a framework to "securely connect providers, health systems, consumers and communities to electronically share health information as necessary and appropriate."

In a statement, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R), a co-chair of the alliance, said, "We must harness our American ingenuity to bring about a technological revolution in America's health care system." Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D), also a co-chair of the alliance, said, "Improving e-health is about improving a patient's overall health care experience, from increasing efficiency and coordination of health care and reducing duplicative visits to preventing medication errors and protecting the public's health" (Noyes, CongressDaily, 9/23).

The report is available online (.pdf).

AHIC Successor Announces New Board of Directors
In related news, AHIC Successor, a public-private advisory panel established as the next stage of the American Health Information Community at HHS, on Tuesday announced a new board of directors, CQ HealthBeat reports. HHS established the 15-member panel in 2005 to develop strategies to advance the adoption of health care IT.

In a statement, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said, "This is a key milestone for the health IT movement. It will ensure that the critical work of the AHIC can be effectively leveraged so that interoperable health IT becomes a reality and that the benefits of health IT reach all Americans. ... This model brings the benefits of government involvement to the table without the pitfalls of a politically controlled process picking winners and losers" (McCarthy, CQ HealthBeat, 9/23).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.