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Position Papers
Health Information Technology
The Issue
In the last few years increasing momentum has developed in the U.S. around the use of health care information technology, especially as it pertains to the electronic mobilization of health care information to improve quality, safety, cost, access and efficiency. Leading authorities and experts have called for the use of electronic health records which gained tremendous significance in 2005 due to the devastation of local health care infrastructure following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
These new information technology initiatives face many challenges, including the lack of standards for interoperability and communications, as well as cost and training. In an era when health care costs continue to increase, there is pressure to develop solutions that will maintain the integrity of the health care delivery system, as well as improve its efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has taken a leadership role in moving the information technology agenda forward and the Bush administration has been urging the widespread adoption and use of electronic medical records.
There has also been a significant increase in activity at the state and regional levels as coalitions have formed to drive improvements in adopting health information technology and promoting its ease of use. Nearly every state in the nation has engaged stakeholders and coalitions from across the health care and business sectors to determine how best they might adopt health information technology in support of quality care.
- At least 28 states have established initiatives to develop methods and policies for the widespread adoption of health information technology;
- Approximately 50 percent of the states in the U.S. have an executive order or legislative mandate in place that is designed to stimulate the use of information technology among health care providers;
- Increasingly, states are offering grant funding to support the use of health information technology.
- The issue of health care information technology gained regional and national attention in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which virtually destroyed the health care infrastructure of much of the Gulf Coast region.
All of this work is ongoing amid an extremely tight fiscal climate in most states, ISSUE BRIEF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY October 30, 2006 where funding for health care is already a major legislative challenge. Quality in health care remains a major source of concern for both community residents and their governments. The most pressing challenges include standards setting, securing funding, addressing technical issues, as well as privacy and confidentiality concerns.
The CHRISTUS Health Position: The widespread adoption of health information technology will improve the quality, access and cost of care, as well as protect our ability to secure appropriate treatments for patients in situations where physical records are unavailable or have been destroyed.
Being able to respond to our patients’ needs with a commitment to quality care is among the highest priorities of CHRISTUS Health. We support initiatives that will empower individuals to be more knowledgeable about their health status and care and allow them to be partners in health care decision making. Further, we support the portability of health records to give patients more flexibility in their care. We recognize that current local, regional and national initiatives fall short of achieving these goals on a broad scale, and we support initiatives that improve health care delivery through the widespread use of health information technology, including:
- Reimbursement for electronic medical records through health plans and health insurers.
- The establishment of standards for health information interoperability and exchange.
- Reimbursement of electronic physician visits within an established physician-patient relationship.
- Community based efforts to coordinate care.
- Funding of pilot programs to demonstrate which models work best on a large scale.
- Funding of cooperative efforts for health care information technology.
- The creation of community models that will enable patients to access their personal medical records.
