Texas Announces Health Care System Integrity Partnership

Texas Gov. Rick Perry today issued an executive order creating a new public-private partnership that will further efforts to create a secure electronic medical records system, arm consumers with the ability to comparison shop for health care and provide a more robust health insurance market for small employers.

"Ultimately, our goal is to improve patient safety and provide consumers with better care at a price more Texas families and small businesses can afford," Perry said.

Perry said the executive order will lead to better use of information technology in health care, empower consumers with information about the price and quality of care provided at specific institutions, and encourage more small employers to provide health plans for their employees.

The directives in the executive order are among the recommendations of the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee, which was established by legislation the governor signed in 2005.

The executive order lays the foundation for a new public-private partnership, the Texas Health Care System Integrity Authority, which is charged with developing a network for the secure electronic exchange of medical records. Serving on the Authority will be representatives of those who have a stake in the health care system: consumers, employers, providers, payers and government agencies.

"In an emergency, getting a patient's medical records quickly could mean the difference between life and death," Perry said.

The current paper system, which experts estimate accounts for 25 percent of health care costs, severely hampers a doctor's ability to know patients' history, what existing conditions they have, or what medicines they are allergic to when they arrive at the emergency room.

Perry noted that an electronic medical records system has several advantages, including:

• Allowing doctors to know the best course of treatment.
• Avoiding the duplication of expensive and time-consuming medical tests.
• Giving patients the ability to play a more active role in their own care by accessing their records anytime they choose.
• Providing better security against unauthorized access of patient records.

"We can not only save billions of dollars on the overall cost of health care, we can save countless lives while doing substantially more to protect patient privacy," Perry said.

The Health Care System Integrity Authority will also be charged with developing recommendations on how to make health insurance more accessible to small employers and how to empower consumers with information from both providers and insurers about the cost and quality of care provided in physicians' offices and hospitals.

For the complete release, click here.