Why promote health information technology, transparency, and increased incentives for performance measurement and consumer engagement?

Answer:

Efforts to improve health care quality and efficiency will be most effective if public and private purchasers send consistent messages to the market.  Further, the market will benefit substantially if public and private sector purchasers actively collaborate to establish and support uniform standards for health information technology interoperability and measuring and reporting quality and cost or price information. 

Considerable efforts to develop more extensive, uniform standards are already underway and need to be reinforced.  This information is necessary for employees to make effective decisions about their own health care, particularly those enrolled in consumer-directed health plans, and to work towards improved consumer literacy for better care.

Last Updated: 4/28/2008