Health-Care Technology Gets Backing On Two FrontsHealth-Care Technology Gets Backing On Two Fronts

IT's potential to improve the nation's health care topped a couple of agendas last week. A bill that would provide $50 million for 20 federal grants to encourage adoption of such technology was introduced in the House of Representatives. The same day, a panel of CEOs from large U.S. companies recommended "urgent" adoption of IT by the health-care industry to help reduce soaring costs and improve patient care.

The 21st Century Health Information Act of 2005 (H.R. 2234) had bipartisan backing, with Reps. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and Tim Murphy, R-Pa., among its sponsors. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., plans to introduce a Senate version of the bill, a spokeswoman for Kennedy says.

The bill provides funding for regional health-information organizations that would facilitate the sharing of patient information among health-care providers. The legislation would require that groups be accredited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to be eligible for the funds. Such groups already are being developed in Indiana and Massachusetts.

The bill provides financial aid for physicians that deploy IT as part of their participation in the regional organizations. It also proposes the creation of a national technical assistance center for physicians participating in regional groups.

Also last week, Health and Human Services released a report that includes recommendations from the Health Information Technology Leadership Panel, a group of nine CEOs chosen because of the amount of health care their companies buy for employees.

Among the report's conclusions were that the potential benefits of health IT far outweigh the costs. Health IT needs a clear, broadly motivating vision and practical adoption strategy; the federal government should provide leadership; and IT adoption in other industries should guide the effort, the panel said.

The panel included the CEOs of FedEx, General Motors, International Paper, Johnson Controls, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Target, and Wells Fargo, and the former CEO of Wal-Mart.