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HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:
WHAT IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT\u2019S ROLE?

David Blumenthal
Institute for Health Policy
Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System

March 2006
ABSTRACT: Both the executive and legislative branches of the federal government have

launched or are considering new initiatives to encourage the spread of health information technology (HIT). While use of HIT will not solve every health care problem, its potential benefits are substantial, justifying federal action to realize them. In particular, federal policy may be necessary to overcome market failure in the HIT sector and to foster the creation of an information network that spans state and even national boundaries. A variety of options exists for federal action, ranging from changes in existing regulations to the provision of funds to encouraging use of HIT by small health care providers.

This report was prepared for the Commonwealth Fund/Alliance for Health Reform 2006
Bipartisan Congressional Health Policy Conference.

Support for this research was provided by The Commonwealth Fund. The views presented here are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Commonwealth Fund or its directors, officers, or staff, or of The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System or its members. This and other Fund publications are online atww w.cm wf.org. To learn more about new publications when they become available, visit the Fund\u2019s Web site andregister

to receive e-mail alerts. Commonwealth Fund pub. no. 907.
iii
CONTENTS

About the Author........................................................................................................... iv Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1 Is HIT the Solution?........................................................................................................ 1 Is There a Rationale for Federal Action?.......................................................................... 4 What Options Are Available to the Federal Government?................................................ 7 Current Federal Legislation.............................................................................................. 8 Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 10 Notes............................................................................................................................. 11

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Preventing Medication Mistakes..................................................................... 2
Figure 2 Electronic Access to Test Results, Electronic Health Records,
and Electronic Ordering, by Practice Size....................................................... 4
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