Washington, DC - Today, Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA) convened a hearing on the implementation of the health information technology (IT) provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1). Below are highlights from the hearing.
Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, discussed the importance of finding the right balance when setting standards for providers to meet to receive incentives for adoption health IT systems:
DR. BLUMENTHAL: “We want to make well-intended, capable physicians and hospitals able to get to the first step, get some help financially, get the encouragement of being able to use the record and therefore continue on that escalator. If we went too low, I think we would indeed be in danger of not getting value for money. If we went too high, we would be in danger of stifling the program right at the beginning."
Dr. Blumenthal also explained how important striking the right balance is to promoting adoption of health IT across the country:
DR. BLUMENTHAL: “We wanted to make it possible for a small, rural practice to become a meaningful user, just as a large urban practice… If we ask too much too soon from a single rule, we might increase the disparities in care across these geographic and other areas. So we thought we had to bring the whole country along with us, Congressman, in that we had to find a happy medium between a very demanding, aspirational goal, and a goal that wouldn’t get value for money."
Dr. Eugene Heslin, a primary care physician from Saugerties, New York, testified on the importance of meaningful use standards:
DR. HESLIN: “What meaningful use has done is provided a good focus for us to move towards and something to make happen. Without it, we simply couldn’t get it done. So I think it’s very valuable."
Dr. Heslin also rebutted Republican contentions that the subsidies are too generous:
RANKING MEMBER HERGER: “Do you think these subsidies could have been dialed back so that Congress could have instead used some of this money to address Medicare physician payments?"
DR. HESLIN: “No sir, that’s the short answer. The $6,500 that went to support the EHRs went to the license and to some of the implementation efforts. That didn’t get us to meaningful use, a different set of criteria. In addition to that, the hardware, the access in the office, the human workflow redesign costs much, much more than that."
