Health Information Technology: Promoting Electronic Connectivity in Healthcare

Publication Date: April 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Health; Media, telecommunications, and information

Type:

Abstract:

The Institute of Medicine, the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, and other expert panels have identified information technology (IT) as one of the most powerful tools for reducing medical errors, lowering health costs, and improving the quality of care. However, the U.S. health care industry lags far behind other sectors of the economy in its investment in IT, despite growing evidence that electronic information systems can play a critical role in addressing the many challenges the industry faces. Adoption of health IT systems faces significant financial, legal, and technical obstacles.

Congress and the Administration have taken a number of important steps to promote health IT. The 2003 Medicare Modernization Act instructed the HHS Secretary to adopt electronic prescription standards and establish a Commission for Systemic Interoperability. The Commission is charged with developing a comprehensive strategy for implementing data and messaging standards to support the electronic exchange of clinical data. On April 27, 2004, President Bush called for the widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records (EHRs) within 10 years and established the position of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Pursuant to the President's order, the National Coordinator has developed a strategic 10-year plan outlining steps to transform the delivery of health care by adopting EHRs and developing a National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) to link such records nationwide.

The strategic plan identifies several potential policy options for providing incentives for EHR adoption. They include: providing grants to stimulate EHRs and regional information exchange systems; offering low-rate loans and loan guarantees for EHR adoption; amending federal rules (e.g., Medicare physician self-referral law) that may unintentionally impede the development of electronic connectivity among health care providers; and using Medicare reimbursement to reward EHR use.

Health IT has broad bipartisan support among lawmakers. The 109th Congress is likely to consider legislation to boost federal investment and leadership in health IT and provide incentives both for EHR adoption and for the creation of regional health information networks, which are seen as a critical step towards the goal of interconnecting the health care system nationwide. Several health IT bills were introduced during the last Congress and, to date, two bills (H.R. 747, S. 16) have been introduced this year. Congress laid the groundwork for establishing an NHII when it enacted the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA instructed the HHS Secretary to develop privacy standards to give patient more control over the use of their medical information, and security standards to safeguard electronic patient information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.