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Various news reports highlight information technology as a central tool in reforming the health care system.

Baltimore Sun offers a primer on the major issues surrounding technology and health care: "Health information technology is the new rage for politicians and many health-care providers.... Proponents say it will lower health-care costs and improve quality of care. Others aren't so sure. But computerized record-keeping and communication has the potential to change hospital care and procedures dramatically" (Worth, 8/14).

Boston Globe reports: "Dartmouth College has received a $3 million federal grant to develop secure computing systems for health care facilities. The grant from the National Science Foundation is part of the federal stimulus bill. It will be used for a three-year project in which researchers will develop new secure, efficient systems to allow doctors to monitor patients through mobile phone and wearable wireless medical sensors. The team will be exploring the challenges of protecting the security of patient information while ensuring that health care providers can access the information they need" (8/15).

Kentucky Post reports: In step with national efforts to advance the application of health information technology, Gov. Steve Beshear (D-Ky.) announced Friday the creation of the Governor's Office of Electronic Health Information within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. "President Barack Obama's administration is calling for universal adoption of electronic health records by 2014. To access stimulus funds to support HIT, states are required to have the technology and other infrastructure in place to support electronic health records and HIT." The governor's office will be "the single point of contact with federal and state agencies involved with HIT" (Noll, 8/14).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.