Seven Out of 10 Americans Would Vote for a Presidential Candidate Who Supports a Nationwide Health Information Network, CSC S...( EL SEGUNDO Calif. Feb. 19 /- Seve...),Health

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventy percent of Americans would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who supports the creation of a nationwide health information network (NHIN), according to 1,000 Americans recently surveyed by Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC). The survey explores people's voting tendencies and attitudes related to health information technology (IT) during a presidential election year.

While a majority of Americans see the value of a nationwide health network, more than two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed have never heard presidential candidates discuss health IT or electronic healthcare records (EHRs).

Enabling health institutions and medical professionals to have electronic access to medical records is an important issue, especially among the younger, tech-savvy demographic. In fact, 84 percent of those aged 18-24 would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported the creation of a NHIN, compared to 68 percent of Americans over the age of 25.

"Americans want to see the IT capabilities in healthcare that many other industries such as banking already have, but it will take a partnership between private industry and the government to achieve that result," said Dr. Robert Wah, chief medical officer for CSC's North American Public Sector business unit. Prior to joining CSC, Dr. Wah served as acting deputy national coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, advancing President Bush's executive order to have EHRs for the majority of Americans by 2014.

"By providing better information that enables patients, doctors, healthcare institutions and the government to make better decisions, health IT can dra
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