"Information technology is a pivotal part of transforming our health care system," said Leavitt. "We are at a critical juncture. Working in close collaboration, the federal government and private sector can drive changes that will lead to fewer medical errors, lower costs, less hassle and better care."
The report, "Health Information Technology Leadership Panel: Final Report" (PDF file: 42 pages / 494 KB. More about PDFs.), spells out specific actions the government should take to help lead the country toward adoption of health IT. According to the report, the federal government should:
- offer incentives and rewards for health IT adoption in the private sector,
- strengthen efforts to adopt health IT in the federal arena,
- reinvest savings back into additional health IT implementation,
- promote the adoption of harmonized standards, and
- continue funding demonstrations and evaluations of interoperable health IT.
David Brailer, M.D., Ph.D., national coordinator for health information technology, was also quoted in the release. He said the report's recommendations "verify the need for shared public and private investment and ongoing collaboration to achieve the president's vision for widespread health information technology adoption."
