"America needs to move much faster to adopt information technology in our health care system," Secretary Thompson said as he released the action report ordered by President Bush. "Electronic health information will provide a quantum leap in patient power, doctor power and effective health care. We can't wait any longer."
The plan, prepared by the new National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David J. Brailer, lays out the broad steps needed to achieve always-current, always-available electronic health records (EHR) for Americans. The report was released in Washington, D.C., at a Secretarial Summit on Health Information Technology.
"Health information technology can improve quality of care and reduce medical errors, even as it lowers administrative costs," Secretary Thompson said. "It has the potential to produce savings of 10 percent of our total annual spending on health care, even as it improves care for patients and provides new support for health care professionals." At the same time, security and privacy of electronic medical records would be improved over protections of paper-based records, Secretary Thompson said. And health information technology also offers much greater access and control of health records by consumers themselves.
Secretary Thompson announced he would appoint a special leadership panel to assess total costs and benefits of health information technology and report to him by fall. He also announced efforts underway to develop private sector certification for health information technology products. And he said Health and Human Services will begin reviewing the feasibility of a private sector consortium to plan and develop a new nationwide network for health information.
In addition, Secretary Thompson announced Medicare plans to create an Internet portal allowing beneficiaries to access their personal Medicare information. He also announced new grants to help develop information exchanges in nine communities, adding that $50 million more in seed funding will be provided to five states this fall, with plans doubling the investment in 2005.
President Bush, in April, called for electronic health records for most Americans within 10 years. In an executive order, he created the new Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and in May, David J. Brailer, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed to the new position.
"President Bush has identified health information technology as one of the most important technology areas for America's future," Dr. Brailer said. "This report lays down a foundation for achieving this national priority and moves us from a period of discussion into a period of rapid action."
Goals and Strategies
The report, "The Decade of Health Information Technology: Delivering Consumer-centric and Information-Rich Health Care," says federal leadership can help hasten efforts to be carried out by the private sector.
The report identifies four major goals, with strategic action areas for each:
Goal 1 -- "Inform Clinical Practice:" Bringing information tools to the point of care, especially by investing in EHR systems in physician offices and hospitals.
Goal 2 -- "Interconnect Clinicians:" Building an interoperable health information infrastructure, so that records follow the patient and clinicians have access to critical health care information when treatment decisions are being made.
Goal 3 -- "Personalize Care:" Using health information technology to give consumers more access and involvement in health decisions.
Goal 4 -- "Improve Population Health:" Expanding capacity for public health monitoring, quality of care measurement and bringing research advances more quickly into medical practice.
The president's April executive order also directed the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense and the Office of Personnel Management to report on how they will advance the adoption of health information technology. The reports, which were also recently released, are included in the report announced by Secretary Thompson.
