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Skriven 2005-01-27 23:32:56 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0501272) for Thu, 2005 Jan 27
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Improving Care and Saving Lives Through Health IT
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 27, 2005

Improving Care and Saving Lives Through Health IT



Today's Presidential Action
  þ Today, President Bush visited Cleveland, Ohio, to highlight the
    benefits of health care information technology in saving lives and
    improving health care for all Americans. Better health information
    technology is essential to improving America's health care system.
  þ The President's Health Information Technology Plan is an important part
    of his overall health care agenda to make America's first- rate health
    care safer, more accessible, and more affordable.
  þ The President's budget for FY 2006 continues to support the use of
    health information technology by increasing funding to $125 million for
    demonstration projects that will help test the effectiveness of health
    IT and allow for widespread adoption in the health care industry. The
    Administration is also seeking an additional $50 million for FY 2005
    (in addition to the $50 million already appropriated by Congress for FY
    2005) to support the use of health IT.
  þ An important new step in the President's health information technology
    plan is today's announcement of the electronic prescribing
    (e-prescribing) proposed regulation by the Centers for Medicare and
    Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services
    (HHS). This new E-prescribing regulation will improve the care seniors
    receive in Medicare by helping to bring electronic prescriptions to
    seniors when the prescription drug benefit takes effect in January
    2006. It will also increase broader adoption of e-prescribing across
    the entire health care system.

E-prescribing: The Newest Step in the President's Health IT Plan
  þ President Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug,
    Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which calls for standards
    to enable e-prescribing for the Medicare Part D program. Today, CMS
    issued the e-prescribing proposed standards rule to help enable the
    availability of e-prescribing when the Medicare Part D program begins
    on January 1, 2006.
      þ E-prescribing will improve the quality and safety of patient care
        through reduced medication errors and monitoring for adverse drug
        reactions, and could improve care and increase efficiency in
        physician offices.
      þ As a key link between patients, doctors, and pharmacies,
        accelerated adoption of e-prescribing in Medicare will help to spur
        e-prescribing and the adoption of electronic health records
        throughout the Nation's health care system.

Updating America's Health Care System

Information technology is changing American industry. At the end of the
1990s, most American industries were spending approximately $8,000 per
worker for IT, but the health care industry was investing only
approximately $1,000 per worker. The United States has always been
innovative with medical care, but continues to face major hurdles in our
health information systems as we move into the 21st century. Despite
spending over $1.6 trillion on health care as a Nation, there are still
serious concerns about high costs, avoidable medical errors, administrative
inefficiencies, and poor coordination - all of which are closely connected
to the failure to incorporate health information technology into our health
care system.
  þ Current health information systems use an outdated, paper-based system:
    The innovation that has made our medical care the world's best has not
    been applied to our health information systems. America's medical
    professionals are the best and brightest in the world, and set the
    standard for the world. President Bush is working to ensure that
    America's health information systems match the high quality of the
    Nation's medical personnel.
  þ America's patients deserve an up-to-date medical information system.
      þ A patient's vital medical information is scattered, and full
        records are often unavailable at the time of care, and especially
        during emergency care.
      þ Patients lack access to useful, credible health information to
        choose the best treatment for their needs, and manage their own
        wellness.
  þ America's doctors should have a high-quality, health information system
    to best serve their patients.
      þ Physicians are not able to keep vast amounts of information about
        drugs, interactions, and guidelines easily at hand to select the
        best treatments for their patients.
      þ Medical orders and prescriptions must be handwritten and are too
        often misunderstood.

The President's Plan to Improve Care and Save Lives Through Health IT
  þ President Bush's Health Information Technology Plan is continuing to
    address the longstanding problems in the Nation's health care system.
    The President believes that better health information technology is
    essential to improve America's health care system, and he is committed
    to his goal of assuring that most Americans have electronic health
    records within the next 10 years. Electronic health records will share
    information privately and securely among and between health care
    providers when authorized by the patient.
  þ To achieve his 10-year goal, the President has taken the following
    steps to promote coordinated public- and private-sector efforts that
    will accelerate broader adoption of health care information technology:
      þ Using the Federal Government to Foster Greater Adoption of Health
        Information Technology. The President plans to build on progress
        already made in this area by fostering regional collaborations and
        demonstration projects that will test the effectiveness of Health
        IT and encourage widespread adoption. The President has also
        directed the Federal government to coordinate its health
        information systems so that care delivered by the Federal
        government, reimbursement, and oversight is more efficient and
        cost-effective.
      þ Adopting Uniform Health Information Standards to allow medical
        information to be stored and easily shared electronically while
        maintaining privacy.
          þ Over the last several years, HHS has been collaborating with
            the private sector and other Federal agencies to identify and
            endorse voluntary standards necessary for health information to
            be shared safely and securely among health care providers.
          þ The results of these projects include standards for
            transmitting X-rays over the Internet; electronic lab results
            transmitted to physicians for immediate analysis, diagnosis and
            treatment - assuring a prompt response and eliminating errors
            and duplicative testing due to lost laboratory reports; and
            standardized electronic prescriptions, which save time for
            patients and help to avoid serious medical errors.
      þ The New National Health Information Technology Coordinator is
        providing national leadership and the coordination necessary to
        achieve the President's 10-year goal. Dr. David Brailer, former
        Senior Fellow at the Health Technology Center in San Francisco, is
        guiding ongoing work on health information standards and processes
        to identify and implement the various steps needed to support and
        encourage health information technology in the public and private
        health care delivery systems. Dr. Brailer is also coordinating
        partnerships between government agencies and private sector
        stakeholders to speed the adoption of health information
        technology.

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