July 2004

U.S. announces 10-year plan to transform healthcare delivery

The United States will embark on transforming the delivery of healthcare through a new health-information infrastructure within 10 years, according to a plan announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

The plan, prepared by the new National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David J. Brailer, MD, PhD, lays out the broad steps needed to achieve always-current, always-available electronic health records (EHR) for Americans. EHR systems would also enable physicians and other health professionals to electronically tap into treatment information as they care for patients. The report was released in Washington, D.C., at a Secretarial Summit on Health Information Technology bringing together the nation's technology and health leaders. It is available online at www.hhs.gov.

"Health information technology can improve quality of care and reduce medical errors, even as it lowers administrative costs," Thompson said. "It has the potential to produce savings of 10 percent of our total annual spending on healthcare, even as it improves care for patients and provides new support for health care professionals."

At the same time, security and privacy of electronic medical records would be improved over protections of paper-based records, Thompson said. And health information technology also offers much greater access and control of health records by consumers themselves.

Secretary Thompson announced he would appoint a special Leadership Panel to assess total costs and benefits of health information technology and report to him by fall. He also announced efforts underway to develop private sector certification for health information technology products. And he said HHS will begin reviewing the feasibility of a private sector consortium to plan and develop a new nationwide network for health information.

In addition, Secretary Thompson announced Medicare plans to create an Internet portal allowing beneficiaries to access their personal Medicare information. And he said Medicare will accelerate regulations for e-prescribing of drugs in order to quickly disseminate common standards. He also announced new grants to help develop information exchanges in nine communities, adding that $50 million more in seed funding will be provided to five states this fall, with plans doubling the investment in 2005.

The report, "The Decade of Health Information Technology: Delivering Consumer-centric and Information-Rich Health Care," says federal leadership can help hasten efforts to be carried out by the private sector. The report identifies four major goals, with strategic action areas for each:

• Goal 1 — Inform Clinical Practice: Bringing information tools to the point of care, especially by investing in EHR systems in physician offices and hospitals.

• Goal 2 — Interconnect Clinicians: Building an interoperable health information infrastructure, so that records follow the patient and clinicians have access to critical health care information when treatment decisions are being made.

• Goal 3 — Personalize Care: Using health information technology to give consumers more access and involvement in health decisions.

• Goal 4 — Improve Population Health: Expanding capacity for public health monitoring, quality of care measurement, and bringing research advances more quickly into medical practice.

Source: Department of Health and Human Services, www.hhs.gov.

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