GOVERNMENTHHS outlines plan to increase national adoption of health information technologyFederal officials set their sights on new standards that will make electronic records more viable for small and solo physician practices.By Joel B. Finkelstein, amednews staff. Aug. 9, 2004. Washington -- A rapidly evolving federal effort to broaden vastly the use of health information technology is unlikely to get far unless the government can prove to physicians that there will be long-term benefits. "We need to do better by our patients, and we certainly need to do better by our medical professionals," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. He laid out the department's vision and strategy at a recent government conference on health care IT in Washington, D.C. "We see patients with records that are always current and always available so that services are not duplicated," Thompson said. "We see systems where records are clear and accurate and legible so that medical errors are avoided. We see electronic health records systems that don't just provide the patient's record, they also give the doctor access to the treatment information he or she needs." With those goals in mind, David Brailer, MD, national coordinator of the initiative, laid out the framework his office has developed in the three months since President Bush named him to the newly created post. He described it as a broad outline of priorities and strategies for encouraging the greater adoption of health information technology. Ultimately, he hopes his office will spur the creation of a national infrastructure of information technology that allows the medical community to communicate efficiently and securely. As part of that effort, HHS has launched multiple demonstration projects designed to create national standards by which physicians can gauge electronic systems offered on the market. Medicare has joined a national alliance of purchasers and payers, according to Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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