Improving Health Care: Why a Dose of IT May Be Just What the Doctor Ordered

Health information technology promises to transform and modernize our national health care system. President Bush has set a goal of establishing a national health information network by 2014, but currently most Americans do not even have an electronic health record. Congress is now considering legislation on how to ensure the American health care system benefits from IT. At this event, leading national experts will discuss both the benefits of electronic health records — such as reducing medical costs, improving quality of care, and enabling patients to have more control over their personal medical information — and what steps our country needs to take to speed adoption.

Dr. Alan Lotvin will discuss the current state of health care and the ways in which electronic health records can improve care. Dr. Edna DeVries will provide a practitioner’s perspective on the role of IT in medical practices. ITIF will release a new research report that examines the power of health IT and how health record data banks can play a role. Finally, Nancy Johnson, a leading former member of Congress, will discuss the importance of IT for transforming the American health care system.

Please join the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the Health IT Now! Coalition, and a distinguished panel of experts for a discussion of the benefits of electronic health records, the current obstacles to adoption, and the kind of policies needed to enable America to take full advantage of health IT.