Health Care Information Technology: Getting the Policy Right

Publication Date: June 2006

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Edmund F. Haislmaier

Research Area: Health

Keywords: Health care

Type: Brief

Abstract:

While health care transactions generate an enormous volume of data, too much of it is disjointed and inefficiently used. Recent studies indicate that better management and use of this information could generate tens of billions of dollars in savings, reducing administrative costs while improving medical care. Many legislative proposals are based on the premise that benefits and savings will flow automatically from government-mandated 'standardization' and 'interoperability.' However, these technical concerns are secondary to creating a market framework for medical information. With that in mind, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently introduced the "Independent Health Records Bank Act" (S.3454 and H.R.5559). This legislation would establish health care information record banks designed to protect patient privacy and respect the information ownership rights of patients and providers alike.