Gordon Introduces Bill To Reduce Health Care Costs And Improve Care

June 5, 2007, WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon has introduced legislation to improve the efficiency of America’s health care system through better technology.

“Information technology has transformed other industries by improving cost efficiency, productivity and quality,” said Gordon. “It can do the same for the health care industry.”

Gordon’s bill, H.R. 2406, would authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish guidelines to promote the integration of U.S. healthcare information systems. The bill aims to enable health information technology systems to operate seamlessly throughout the county so that patients have up-to-date electronic medical records available whenever they visit a physician, specialist or hospital.

Gordon said proper standards will ensure that a system in Murfreesboro can communicate with a system in Nashville or Pittsburgh. The standards established by the bill would also help to address security and privacy concerns regarding electronic medical records.

“It is important for the systems to be not only interoperable, but also secure and private,” said Gordon. “Safeguards must be in place to protect the systems from hackers and to ensure that only appropriate personnel can access a patient’s healthcare records.”

Studies suggest that eliminating errors related to paperwork and enabling better communication between health care providers could improve treatment and lower costs in the health care industry. According to a study in the Annals of Family Medicine, miscommunication is a major cause of 80 percent of medical errors.

“Providing doctors with access to electronic health records could reduce duplicate medical tests, avoid adverse drug interactions and provide health care workers with instant access to a patient’s medical history in emergency situations,” said Gordon.

In addition to ensuring the continuity of medical data and information, a study in Health Affairs found that an interoperable national health IT network could yield $77 billion per year in savings – or 5 percent of America’s annual health care spending.

“We need bold and aggressive efforts to develop a system that works for everyone involved,” said Gordon. “If we can establish standards and use technology, we can improve quality of treatment and begin to bring healthcare costs down.”

The bill has been referred to the House Science and Technology Committee, which Gordon chairs. The congressman is also a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.