New Democrat Coalition Sets 2012 Healthcare Priorities

4.Promote widespread adoption of interoperable health information technology (HIT) systems across healthcare settings to reduce costs and provide savings for patients and businesses.

• Foster an HIT marketplace where small providers and hospitals, as well as providers in disadvantaged communities, can reduce financial risks associated with HIT investments and become meaningful users of comprehensive, affordable HIT systems.
• Make sure meaningful use standards are focused on outcomes as well as inputs.

What will happen to this list of priorities is anyone's guess. Efforts to garner a comment on the white paper from Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) were unsuccessful. Pitts chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health, which regularly holds hearings on many of the topics on the agenda of the New Democrats. There is general agreement across the political aisle that quality and efficiency are important to the success of our healthcare system—but how to pay for everything is always a stumbling block.