Video: Senators and CEOs Urge Passage of Health I...(ved health outcomes of $165billion. -...),Health

-- According to a 2002 Commonwealth Fund study, 22 percent of Americans report that they or a family member have experienced a medical error of some kind -- errors that could be avoided through health IT use. Many of the 98,000 deaths from medical errors each year could also be avoided.

-- Each day that Congress fails to pass the "Wired for Healthcare Quality Act," 268 Americans die from medical mistakes, and the nation loses $452 million dollars, losses that could be prevented by health IT.

The "Wired for Health Care Quality Act" was introduced last June in the Senate; a similar bill -- the "Promoting Health Information Technology Act" -- was introduced several months later in the House of Representatives. Both bills would foster implementation of a nationwide interoperable health information network.

Business Roundtable member companies provide health insurance to 35 million Americans, which represents a quarter of all Americans who have private employer-based or group health insurance coverage.

"For nearly all businesses, with the notable exception of health care, electronic communication has already moved into second- and third-generation iterations. Yet, today 90 percent of health care records are kept on paper," said Ivan Seidenberg, who is also chairman of Business Roundtable's Health and Retirement Task Force. "The Internet has already entered 'Web 2.0': We can access our personal banking information from around the globe and receive up-to-the-minute updates on news, stocks and much more. Meanwhile, our health care is stuck in time and lacks even the simplest IT foundation. We must act now to upgrade American health care and establish an interconnected nationwide health-technology system."

Verizon covers 900,000 employees, retirees and their dependants and offers an example of what could be done, Seidenberg said. The company offers employees an enhanced Personal Health Car
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