SCHWARTZ HEALTHCARE-IT BLOG

Docs Like Bush

As reported in AISHealth.com, Aug. 24, continuing his support for the adoption of nationwide health IT, President Bush on Aug. 22 signed an executive order requiring federal agencies that administer or sponsor health programs to adopt and use interoperable health IT standards and quality-improvement measures.

The order states, "As each agency implements, acquires, or upgrades health information technology [HIT] systems used for the direct exchange of health information between agencies and with non-federal entities, it shall utilize, where available, [HIT] systems and products that meet recognized interoperability standards."

According to the order, which becomes effective next Jan. 1, HHS, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program all must comply with the order. In a conference call Aug. 22 with health care industry executives, HHS Sec. Mike Leavitt said organizations that contract with those federal agencies — such as private health plans that participate in Medicare — would also be required to adopt the same standards outlined in the order.

In response to Bush's executive order, e-Health Initiative CEO Janet Marchibroda said, "The ongoing support and keen insight demonstrated by President Bush...on the issues at the intersection of health care quality and information technology are critical to move forward and to make both better patient care and interoperability a reality."  

"These orders won't have much effect at all," Stephen Davidson, professor of health care management and management policy at Boston University's School of Management, told Information Week. According to the magazine, Davidson said, "The missing link is that not many doctors have systems that talk to each other....and even if the software works in the way it's supposed to work, the benefits of those systems go to the payers and the patients."

Posted by Shawn Whalen on August 26, 2006 at 1:31 PM
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