The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION ACT (H.R. 4157)” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1714 on Sept. 13, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION ACT (H.R. 4157)
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HON. RUSH D. HOLT
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of health information technology, which holds great promise for reducing medical errors, lowering costs, expediting diagnoses and treatments, and facilitating quality care. However, I must oppose this legislation due to the complete lack of a mechanism for safeguarding patient privacy, opening up the dangerous possibility of identity theft or personal infringement.
Estimates vary as to the amount of money that health information technology will save our healthcare system, but it could surely be in the tens of billions of dollars. Making health information accessible electronically by health care providers with the proper clearance would improve the quality of care by getting providers to patients' medical history quickly and efficiently. This would reduce medical errors, increase patient satisfaction, and decrease the number of lawsuits.
Unfortunately, the bill that the House passed will not accomplish any of these goals. Providers do not have access to any funding assistance, which they will need to purchase health information technology. We should be making grants and loans available to physicians so that they can take advantage of the promise of health IT, realizing the promise of improved care.
A larger problem is that this bill will jeopardize the privacy of medical records. We have all seen the unconscionable and irresponsible loss of sensitive personal information by federal agencies like the Veterans Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Department of Transportation. This loss of personal information is a breach of trust by the federal government. Passing this legislation without reasonable privacy safeguards will only put patients at greater risk.
We should be doing more to protect the patients' names, medical history, and financial information. Unfortunately, this legislation abdicates that responsibility. The Rules Committee even disallowed consideration of amendments to accomplish that reasonable and important goal. Whereas the Senate worked on a bipartisan basis to pass a comprehensive and responsible bill, the House has wasted an opportunity to improve healthcare and reduce costs for all Americans.
I support health information technology, and I believe in the promise that it holds. Unfortunately, I cannot support legislation that makes American patients more likely to have their personal information stolen and their privacy violated.
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