According to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt, the advisory panel will help the US in its transition to electronic health records (EHR) by providing input and recommendations to the HHS on how to make health records digital and interoperable while maintaining privacy and security.
The move is an attempt to meet President Bush’s call for the nationwide adoption of EHRs within ten years. It is hoped this will enable patients, doctors and other health care providers to securely access health information over the internet at any given place or time.
The use of electronic health records and other information technology will transform our health care system by reducing medical errors, minimizing paperwork hassles, lowering costs and improving quality of care, said Leavitt. We will bring together the public and private health care sectors to transform health care as we know it.
The collaboration, known as the American Health Information Community (AHIC), will be chartered for two years with the option to operate for up to five years, after which the HHS plans to install a private-sector health information community initiative that will set additional needed standards, certify new health information technology and provide long-term governance for health care transformation.
The HHS will also adopt standards and data-sharing processes for internet-based applications that will help federal programs like Medicaid and Medicare support the use of digital and interoperable health records that are privacy-protected and secure.
