US Health IT Policy Lags Behind

As described in a recent opinion article, Health IT Now and the Bipartisan Policy Center convened a work group of organizations representing clinicians, patients, hospitals, and technology companies to assess the current regulatory landscape, identify the most pressing needs of users, and develop consensus on the ideal future role of government in a post-meaningful use era, and a rapidly evolving delivery system and technology environment. Their report can be accessed and read here. “For too long, federal regulation of health IT favored reporting and process over care and treatment. HHS must create a new era in which government rules provide tangible benefit to consumers; doctors see patients, not computer screens; and the private sector propels our health care system into the future without fear of an outdated regulatory framework holding us in the past. We have envisioned a system that is suited for the health IT challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. We want to make sure Washington sees that vision, too,” writes Janet Marchibroda, director of the Health Innovation Initiative for the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Joel White, executive director of Health IT Now. Report and Recommendations The work group members came together with the common understanding that while robust specifications were helpful in the early stages of HITECH implementation, over time, the level of prescriptiveness regarding health information technology (IT) contained within the Centers for Med...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs