WASHINGTON, DC, June 30, 2005 -- Today's introduction of the Health Information Technology Quality and Improvement Act of 2005 and the Medicare Value Purchasing Act of 2005 marks a major milestone in a three-year effort to drive improvements in healthcare quality and safety through the adoption of information technology by the eHealth Initiative (eHI) and its Foundation. The bi-partisan legislation was jointly introduced today in bills by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT) of the Senate Finance Committee and Sens. Michael Enzi (R-WY) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) of the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

"We commend the bi-partisan support for this legislation and its recognition of the importance of interoperability and health information technology in improving America's health and healthcare," said Janet M. Marchibroda, chief executive officer of eHI and its Foundation. "This legislation has the ability to support eHI's work -- both in local communities and at the national level -- to accelerate the use of information technology to improve healthcare quality and patient safety, by recognizing the key policies that will accelerate its adoption, including those related to interoperability and data standards, privacy and security, incentives and grant programs, and the role of the Federal government".

Together, the bills recognize the importance of the need for funding to support providers, states, and regional or local health information networks as they begin to invest in health information technology to support improvements in healthcare. The Medicare Value Purchasing Act of 2005 integrates the use of health information technology into its payment programs while the Health Information Technology Quality Improvement Act calls for grants and loan programs. The importance of addressing the financial barriers to the adoption of healthcare IT was highlighted today by John Glaser, PhD, vice president and chief information officer, Partners Healthcare and president, eHealth Initiative, who testified before the Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation and Competitiveness of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

According to Glaser's testimony,(see http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1563) " ... healthcare providers confront a complex financial decision when they seek to invest in these applications. While they are committed to the mission of delivering the best possible patient care, these systems represent significant capital commitments. With a reimbursement system that very often does not reward them for improving quality or support them in making these investments, their precarious financial positions and limited resources prevents them from pursuing these systems."

These financial barriers will also be highlighted in survey results to be released by the eHI Foundation in early July. This second annual survey of more than 100 multi-stakeholder health information exchange collaborations, conducted by the eHI Foundation's Connecting Communities for Better Health Program, indicates that more than 59% of such initiatives cite "securing upfront funding" as the one of the most pressing challenges.

Finally, many of the incentives principles outlined in the bills mirror concepts included in eHI's Parallel Pathways for Quality Healthcare-a framework and set of principles developed by eHI's Working Group for Financing and Incentives. Parallel Pathways aligns emerging incentive programs with both quality goals and the HIT infrastructure required-both within physician practices and across regions and communities -- to achieve those goals.

The Senate HELP bill also calls for a public-private partnership or "American Health Information Collaborative" that will identify uniform national data standards and implementation policies for the widespread adoption of health information technology and advise the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary -- who will chair the Collaborative -- on a path forward.

"eHI recognizes the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders within healthcare to provide critical input into policies," Marchibroda said. "These policies will impact all who touch the healthcare system -- especially patients."

The eHealth Initiative is a multi-stakeholder consortium of clinician groups, health plans, employers and healthcare purchasers, healthcare information technology suppliers, hospitals and other providers, laboratory and pharmacy groups, pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, and patient and consumer groups -- which is dedicated to driving improvement in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. Its Connecting Communities for Better Health Program, conducted in cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Services, provides technical support and seed funding to regional and community-based collaborations who are mobilizing information across organizations to support health and healthcare -- noted as "health information networks" in the Senate HELP bill.

Bi-partisan support of the use of information technology to enhance patient care and safety has snowballed in recent weeks. On June 16, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) introduced legislation to promote national adoption of interoperable health care information technology, called the Health Technology to Enhance Quality Act of 2005. The comprehensive bill follows fast on the heels of another introduced in the House last month by Representatives Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). Three other bills have been introduced this year in Congress to encourage provider adoption of information technology and development of a national health information network. See ehi.medigent.com/assets/documents/eHIOverviewofHITLegislationv4FINAL2.doc for a link to eHealth Initiative's "cross-walk" of all health information technology-related bills introduced this year.

About the eHealth Initiative

The eHealth Initiative and its Foundation are independent, non-profit affiliated organizations whose missions are the same: to drive improvement in the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. For more information, go to http://www.ehealthinitiative.org.

SOURCE eHealth Initiative

Web Site: http://ehealthinitiative.org