The Stimulus package passing through the Senate yesterday left untouched the nearly 136 pages of proposed legislation for Health Information Technology, over 18% of the immense 752 page document. To be more specific where specifics are rare, I’m referring to the ‘‘Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act” or HITECH Act and its various components.
To net this out, the government is, as you know, big time into healthcare and growing bigger. Principally the legislation focuses upon the Electronic Health Record which many believe to be a critical element in reducing errors, saving time and improving outcomes. The legislation seems to be aware that there are many many moving parts to enabling the effective and confidential management of personal health information. Governing and standards committees will be formed and there are provisions for Comparative Effectiveness Research adding $400 Million to the effort.
This is probably the right legislation at the right time, still I’ll be keeping a diligent eye out as to unintended consequences, and you should to. I’ll be going through this in detail over the next few days, so check back and comment.
Tom
