Groups say IT changes must be part of national reform

A pair of lobbying groups have been pushing hard to see the U.S. Congress pass health IT legislation that establishes national technology standards, before technology vendors go further down the road toward developing incompatible systems. The groups include the Health IT Now Coalition, which includes former U.S. Representative Nancy Johnson, and the Information Technology Industry Council. They'd like to see Congress move ahead on bills like the Promoting Health Information Technology Act, which would, among other things, establish a public/private group to recommend IT standards and would set aside $163 million per year to help providers adopt key HIT products. The reality, however, is that many advocates had similar ambitions for 2007, and they weren't able to get anything through. Maybe the election year will change things?

To learn about other pending HIT legislation:
- read this PC World piece

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