Health IT Now! Coalition Urges Congress to Pass Health Information Technology Bill...( Medical practitioners patients an...),Health

Medical practitioners, patients and employers recommend immediate adoption of interoperable health information technology

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Health IT Now! Coalition, co-chaired by former Sen. John Breaux and former Rep. Nancy Johnson, held a Capitol Hill briefing today to promote legislation that would provide clear interoperable standards for the rapid deployment of health information technology. Patient advocates, medical advocacy groups, practitioners, and employers agree that health IT is a pressing issue and that Congress needs to pass legislation this session.

Presenters at the event included Dr. Mohammad N. Akhter, executive director of the National Medical Association; Andrew Sperling, director of federal legislative advocacy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Jennifer Queen, a patient advocate, and Neil Trautwein, vice president of employee benefits policy counsel at the National Retail Federation.

"It's time for Congress to act so that our health care system can begin to deliver to patients the many, many benefits we are currently missing," said former Sen. Breaux. "Industries have benefited from the widespread adoption of information technology. Health IT involves no more than implementing the kind of electronic information systems already used in many business sectors and putting it to work in health care."

Health IT legislation will save lives and will make healthcare more affordable. Integrating decision support technology will help doctors identify inappropriate and unnecessary care, thereby reducing costs. In addition, greater efficiencies from health IT will lower future health-care insurance premiums while simultaneously improving clinical outcomes. Health IT reduces administrative costs and eliminates duplicative and lost test results, which today accounts for approximately 20 percent of all tests.

The Health IT Now! Coalition believes federal legislation sh
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