In a Washington Times opinion piece, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) urge the next president and Congress to "pursue meaningful and thorough health reform" and make health IT adoption a priority in 2009.
They write, "First and foremost, we must make a serious investment in health IT," adding, "A modernized, interconnected health system that electronically links patients, physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, public health agencies, payers and key emergency responders would allow all to share accurate, patient-protected information, and that will undoubtedly save lives and save money."
"The Congress and the new president must call for the creation of this nationwide, electronic health system by December 2012 -- the end of the next president's first term," they write.
They add that "health IT will allow us to capture data and then determine which treatments work and which do not."
Gingrich and Whitehouse also recommend overhauling the health care payment system. "We do not pay doctors to coordinate care, to deliver care with electronic health records, to focus on prevention or to teach healthy behavior," they write, adding, "On the other hand, we pay doctors more the sicker their patients are, more for each additional service they deliver and more for each additional test they perform" (Gingrich/Whitehouse, Washington Times, 10/28).