This week, the National Journal asked health care advocates and experts to weigh in on the issue of health IT as part of the larger economic recovery package. The Journal asked, "What do you see as the pros or cons of including $10 billion a year for health information technology in the stimulus package? Are there any reasons to be cautious about moving forward with this initiative?"
SEIU President Andy Stern responded below:
"Improving health IT will help eliminate redundant tests and treatments. It will give patients, businesses, and other healthcare purchasers access to cost and quality reports. And it will reward innovation by doctors and nurses - plus create good jobs.
"Over a million members of our union work on the front lines of health care every day. From their experience we know that a few steps will be key to making the change to better health IT a success:
- Involving health care workers as new technology is introduced and providing good training.
- Providing strong security and privacy protections so patients trust that health IT serves their needs.
- Offering financial rewards and creating IT standards that push hospitals, doctors, and other providers to make the upfront investment.
"SEIU members also have broad experience working in the healthcare safety net, delivering care to low-income and underserved communities. These safety net providers will need extra federal help to be able to invest in health IT - and it's the communities they serve that can benefit the most from the information tools and care practices that come with better technology.
"Our advice to Congress is simple: include investment in health care information technology in the economic recovery, give the Department of Health and Human Services the authority to work out the details and patient protections through a transparent and inclusive process, and hold all of the stakeholders who receive funding accountable for results that deliver for patients.
"The longer we wait to fix health care the worse it gets. Health IT is a step we can, and should, take right now."
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