The Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment, and Easing Communication Through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008 (HR 6357) would create the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the Department of Health and Human Services, provide $560 million in grants and loans for healthcare providers to adopt information technology, and provide assistance for organizations that want to develop IT plans. The bill would also attempt to close regulatory loopholes in HIPAA Security and HIPAA Privacy laws while giving patients more control over their health information.
Participants in the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee meeting discussed adding to the bill penalties for healthcare providers that do not adopt EHR (it includes incentives for providers that do); ensuring that privacy protections do not restrict providers’ abilities to provide care; and using several avenues to ensure near-universal adoption, according to the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report.
This latest HIT bill is part of the Bush administration’s goal for adoption of EHR by 2014. Learn more about HIT.
