Number: RL32858
Title: Health Information Technology: Promoting Electronic Connectivity in Healthcare
Authors: C. Stephen Redhead, Domestic Social Policy Division 
Abstract: Lawmakers in the 109th Congress are likely to consider legislation to boost federal investment and leadership in health IT and provide incentives both for EHR adoption and for the creation of regional health information networks, which are seen as a critical step towards the goal of interconnecting the health care system nationwide. Congress laid the groundwork for establishing an NHII when it enacted the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA instructed the HHS Secretary to develop privacy standards to give patients more control over the use of their medical information, and security standards to safeguard electronic patient information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. This report summarizes recently proposed and enacted legislation to promote the use of EHRs and the development of the NHII. It begins with a brief discussion of some of the benefits of broadening the application of information technology (IT) in health care, as well as the significant financial, technical, and legal barriers to the adoption of health IT. That is followed by a summary of the goals articulated in the federal government's strategic framework for health IT adoption. The report concludes with a set of tables summarizing health IT legislation in the 108th and 109th Congresses.
Pages: 24
Date: April 13, 2005