The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has proposed language for the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee to include in their 2012 platforms to state their support for health IT adoption, Healthcare IT News reports.
H. Stephen Lieber -- president and CEO of HIMSS -- said there is bipartisan support for moving "toward a [health care] system that rewards efficiency and quality outcomes, in part by enabling providers and patients to access the right information at the right time through robust nationwide adoption of health IT."
In its proposal, HIMSS called for the Democratic and Republican parties to include the following language in their respective platforms: "In order to improve the quality of health care for all Americans while reducing costs, the [Democratic or Republican] Party will continue its strong support for the rapid, nationwide adoption of health IT, including electronic health records and secure health information exchange capabilities."
HIMSS officials said they will continue working with Congress to expand bipartisan leadership and support for the nationwide adoption of private and secure health IT systems (Manos, Healthcare IT News, 7/26).