Health Information Technology Experts Say National Standardized Electronic Health Record System Could Save U.S. Millions Of Dollars, Prevent Errors

February 18, 2008 – 9:28 pm | posted in IT / Internet / E-mail

The implementation of a national health care information technology system would reduce costs and help prevent medical errors, lawmakers and experts said during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Thursday, CongressDaily reports (Povich, CongressDaily, 2/14). Such a system would include electronic prescribing, electronic health records and billing, and integrated communication between health care providers and health insurers.
President Bush has made implementation of health care IT a priority, and Congress in recent years has made several failed attempts to pass legislation to promote use of the technology, in part because of concerns about patient privacy and nationwide interoperability standards (Nylen, CQ HealthBeat, 2/14).

During the hearing, experts did not indicate the cost of implementation of a national health care IT system but “maintained that the cost would be worth the investment as it would pay off in spades over time,” CongressDaily reports. Mary Grealy, president of the Health Care Leadership Council, said that the implementation of such a system would reduce medical errors, which cost about $76 billion annually. According to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), RAND has estimated that the health care industry could save between $81 billion and $346 billion annually through the implementation of such a system (CongressDaily, 2/14). Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said, “If we are going to address rising health care costs, we need to get started on some of these reforms.”

Concerns
Valerie Melvin, director of human capital and management information systems for the Government Accountability Office, said that implementation of such a system first requires the development of nationwide interoperability standards. A “national strategy is essential” because, until HHS “develops a national strategy, it is difficult to effectively monitor progress toward achieving national goals for health IT,” Melvin said.

Grealy added, “Developing a multistate, interoperable system depends on national technical standards as well as national uniform standards for confidentiality and security.”

Laura Adams, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Quality Institute, said, “Health IT alone adds little to no value, and if developed in isolation from other critical reforms is likely to be … the next festival of waste,” adding, “Health IT undergirds virtually every major health care reform initiative being advanced today” (CQ HealthBeat, 2/14).

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