Study: Current health IT bills won't do the trick

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund suggests that the current crop of Congressional proposals to promote health IT aren't equipped to make much of a difference in adoption rates. The report, which analyzes health IT bills filed through the end of last year's congressional session, contends that none had enough firepower to fund needed initiatives or create a central leadership structure.

So what should policymakers do? Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis says that among other things, government should pay for health IT adoption by safety-net providers and support the development of RHIOs. The bills will also have to earmark some substantial funds for IT development, or they won't make much of an impact on our $3 trillion system, Davis says.

To learn more about the report:
- read this GovernmentHealthIT article
- read the Commonwealth Fund report summary
- download the Commonwealth Fund report (.pdf)

ALSO: The House Appropriations Committee is planning to cut the budget for HHS's health information technology by almost half, to $61 million, in part because the office hasn't developed a detailed enough plan for meeting its goals. Article

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