Majority Statement

• John Ensign

  Senator
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  Majority Statement

  John Ensign

  Good afternoon.  Welcome to today’s hearing on, “Accelerating the Adoption of Health Information Technology.”

   

  We all know that the promise of health information technology is very real.  Electronic medical records have the potential to completely transform the healthcare system.  If properly implemented, this technology will reduce medical errors, improve quality of care, and lower healthcare costs.

   

  Last year, this Subcommittee held the first Senate hearing on health information technology.  That hearing focused on the promise of health information technology.  Today, I want to focus on progress.

   

  In 2004, President Bush outlined a plan to ensure that most Americans have electronic health records within the next 10 years.  We need to make serious and measurable progress toward meeting this goal.  The question is:  How close are we to meeting the President’s objective? 

   

  Since 2004, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the American Health Information Community have been established to improve health care through information technology.  The Department of Health and Human Services has issued requests for proposals and awarded contracts to explore key issues, including interoperability and certification.  We need to know the status of the work being done in these areas.

   

  Lack of interoperable standards remains one of the key barriers to the widespread adoption of health information technology.  In order to talk to each other, health information systems need to speak a common language.  For that to occur, we need to agree on common data and messaging standards. 

   

  Today, the standards-setting process is fragmented.  The Department of Health and Human Services has noted that the current system lacks coordination and specificity, resulting in overlapping standards and gaps in areas that need to be filled.

   

  We need to coordinate existing standards and develop new standards in areas where necessary.  This will help us to ensure that electronic medical records can work at any point in the healthcare system – much in the same way that a bank card should work in any bank's ATM. 

   

  Data and messaging standards in the area of electronic prescribing, or "e-prescribing," could serve as a model for interoperable electronic health records.  E-prescribing allows doctors to transmit prescriptions electronically to pharmacies.  It also allows doctors and pharmacies to obtain information about the patient’s eligibility and medication history from prescription drug plans.

   

  Having better access to patient information at the point of care makes writing, filling, and receiving prescriptions quicker and easier.  E-prescribing also helps reduce prescription errors caused by hard-to-read physician handwriting and automates the process of checking for drug interactions and allergies.

   

  Both the public and private sectors agree on the need for the successful implementation of interoperable health information technology.  Given the sheer size of the healthcare sector in our economy, as well as the complexity of this task, there is no short cut.  Success will not happen overnight, but we need to be making significant and measurable progress toward interoperability to reach our ultimate goal.  The challenges are great, especially since our healthcare system is highly fragmented.

   

  Nevertheless, the healthcare system needs to begin adopting the technologies that are used in virtually all other industries.  To encourage the widespread adoption of these technologies, we need to increase the confidence that doctors and other healthcare professionals have in making the decision to purchase health information technology.  We can start by creating an infrastructure for interoperability and a process for certifying that products meet accepted standards.

   

  We must focus on making health care more affordable, more available, and more accessible to hard-working Americans.  We can make health care better for all Americans through health information technology.  An interoperable, interconnected healthcare system will improve quality of care and save patients’ and taxpayers’ dollars.  A key component of this system is the electronic medical record. 

   

  An electronic record is more reliable than a paper record.  It is exactly where it should be, even if you are not.  This means that an electronic record may be accessed from any point in the healthcare system.  So, if you happen to be traveling in my home state of Nevada and you get sick or get in an accident, a physician can instantly obtain medical information such as allergies, medications, and prior diagnoses to determine how best to treat you.  Electronic medical records just make sense.

   

  I am eager to hear about the progress that is being made in health information technology in both the public and private sectors.  It is my hope that that this hearing will help us understand what needs to be done to accelerate the adoption of health information technology.  I look forward to the expert testimony of our distinguished witnesses and I want to thank everyone for attending and participating in today’s hearing.

Testimony

• Dr. Carolyn Clancy

  Director

  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Download Testimony (76.88 KB)

Witness Panel 2

• The Honorable Newt Gingrich

  Former Speaker of the House and Founder

  Center for Health Transformation
  Download Testimony (228.07 KB)

• Dr. John Halamka

  Chairman

  Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel
  Download Testimony (22.17 KB)

• Dr. Mark Leavitt

  Chairman

  Certification Commission for Health Information Technology
  Download Testimony (23.98 KB)

• Mr. Michael Raymer

  Senior Vice President for Global Product Strategy

  GE Healthcare
  Download Testimony (109.51 KB)

• Mr. Kevin Hutchinson

  President and Chief Executive Officer

  SureScripts LLC
  Download Testimony (69.53 KB)

• Mr. Phillip T. Ragon

  Chief Executive Officer and Founder

  InterSystems Corporation
  Download Testimony (118.83 KB)