[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8656-S8657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION ACT

  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I would like to rise today to talk for a 
few minutes about a bill I am cosponsoring, the National Health 
Information Technology Adoption Act, S. 2710. This bill, introduced 
yesterday by Senator Gregg, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, 
Labor and Pensions Committee, takes an important step forward in 
bringing our Nation's medical system into the 21st century.
  In today's society, it seems that almost everything is computerized 
and on-line. You can pay your bills on-line, order your groceries on-
line, and even file your taxes on-line. However, for the most part, 
medical records are still on paper and in files. This means these 
records are uneasily shared between doctors treating the same patient 
or are not readily available during an emergency.
  Earlier this year, the Bush administration made computerizing the 
Nation's medical record and building a nationwide health network a 
priority. Yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson 
released a 10-year plan for doing just that.
  S. 2710 is similar to the administration's plan and takes some 
immediate steps to start fulfilling this goal, including establishing 
an official office at the Department of Health and Human Services to 
coordinate health information technology at the national level. The 
bill also provides assistance

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to local communities linking their health care systems, along with 
providing grants for purchasing health information technology.
  Creating a safe, secure and reliable system for medical records won't 
be easy, but if done properly, it could help health care providers 
reduce medical errors and provide better care to their patients. We 
could also see a substantial savings in administrative costs which will 
help lower health care costs for everyone.
  S. 2710 is a good first step, and I am proud to be a co-sponsor. I am 
hopeful that the members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor and Pensions can work together to pass this bill soon, and that 
we can get it to the President's desk by the end of the year.

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