A Cross-Party Win: Empowering Consumers Through Digital Health

By LYGEIA RICCIARDI Lygeia Ricciardi These days Americans are more politically divided than ever, disagreeing vehemently about everything from guns to the role of the press. Despite the distrust and inflammatory rhetoric, there are examples of cross-party, trans-Administration collaboration and success. Let’s celebrate them and be motivated by what happens we put differences aside and focus on shared long-term goals. Using digital technology to empower healthcare consumers is one example of a cross-party win, a still-developing success story that has been cultivated for more than a decade by the efforts of public and private sector leaders from a wide variety of affiliations and political perspectives. Taking Healthcare Digital is a Cross-Party Achievement Back in his 2004 State of the Union Address, Republican George W. Bush called for most Americans to have comprehensive digital health records within 10 years. “By computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care,” he said. Since then both political parties have built on the vision he laid out and added an important new twist—taking healthcare digital isn’t just about helping doctors do a better job, it’s also about empowering patients to be partners in their own health and healthcare. In 2009 Congress allocated about $30 billion via the HITECH Act to expand and promote the adoption of health information technology, mostly through financial incentives for hos...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Politics cross party digital health care Patients Source Type: blogs