WASHINGTON, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) met today at the Hotel Washington in Washington, DC to discuss the initial findings and recommendations in its draft report to the President, titled “Transforming Health Care through Information Technology.”
Following discussion, public comments, and deliberations, the Committee has determined that the use of information technology used in the delivery of health care services can result in substantial economic and social benefits, including cost savings, error reduction, and an improvement in the quality of care received by patients in the U.S. health care system.
“Rising costs, an aging population, and increasing medical complexity continue to present challenges to the health care industry,” said Marc Benioff, Co-Chairman of PITAC. “Recent advances in technology should enable the adoption of electronic information exchanges that address these challenges and ensure optimal patient care.”
“Driving the adoption of information technology for health care delivery has enormous potential to reduce error, increase efficiency, and improve the quality of care for all Americans,” said PITAC Co-Chairman Ed Lazowska.
In its final report, expected to be issued in June 2004, the Committee will emphasize the importance of Presidential leadership to ensure that multiple Departments of the Federal Government will work together towards the vital and timely adoption of information technology for the benefit of all parties involved in health care.
The draft recommendations presented at the meeting for PITAC deliberations call for a new approach to health care information technology with four essential elements:
* An Electronic Health Record for each American that maximizes the amount of information available to health care providers while not creating new work flow or cost issues that prevent adoption * Computer-assisted decision support to increase conformance with evidence-based medicine * Electronic order entry, both for outpatient care and within the hospital environment * An interoperable electronic information interchange that includes both highly specific standards for capture of new data and tools for capturing non-standards-compliant electronic information from legacy systems
The draft recommendations presented today are available at http://www.itrd.gov/pitac/meetings/2004/20040413/20040413_draft_hit.pdf
About PITAC
The President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) was established on February 11, 1997 to provide the President, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Federal agencies involved in IT R&D with guidance and advice on all areas of high performance computing, communications, and information technologies. Representing the research, education, and library communities and including network providers and representatives from critical industries, the Committee guides the Administration’s effort to accelerate development and adoption of information technologies vital for American prosperity in the 21st century.
About the Office of Science and Technology Policy
Congress established OSTP in 1976 with a broad mandate to advise the President and others within the Executive Office of the President on the impacts of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The 1976 Act also authorizes OSTP to lead an interagency effort to develop and to implement sound science and technology policies and budgets and to work with the private sector, state and local governments, the science and higher education communities, and other nations toward this end. The Director of OSTP serves as co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and oversees the National Science and Technology Council on behalf of the President. For more information visit http://www.ostp.gov/.
Office of Science and Technology Policy
CONTACT: Bob Hopkins of the Office of Science and Technology Policy,+1-202-456-6098, or rhopkins@ostp.eop.gov
Web site: http://www.ostp.gov/
