SCHWARTZ HEALTHCARE-IT BLOG

Executive Order Up

Healthcare IT vendors should be aware of a President Bush executive order on healthcare IT. It presents media possibilities for comment. On August 22, 2006, President Bush signed an executive order that requires the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management to collect more information about the quality and cost of healthcare they provide and share that data with each other and with beneficiaries.

The order directs the agencies to work with the private sector and other government agencies to develop and enact programs to measure quality of care. The agencies would also work to identify practices that promote high-quality care. The information will enable consumers to make informed choices among doctors and hospitals, and it will help support doctors and hospitals in their efforts to improve care and lower its costs.

The order also calls for the agencies to use interoperable electronic health records “where available,” and requires the agencies to compile information on the prices they pay for common services available to their members. Agencies must have the new programs in operation by January 1, 2007.

The President said he hopes the Federal action will be followed by similar commitments in the private sector, and in the state and local government. The U.S. House of Representatives also recently passed a measure (HR 4157 “The Health IT Promotion Act of 2006”) that serves to remove legal barriers to the provision of IT technology to physician.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on August 22, 2006 at 4:39 PM
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