The State Alliance for eHealth has issued its inaugural report, emphasizing the importance of electronic prescribing as a first step toward broader use of information technology in health care. An initiative of the National Governor’s Association, the alliance comprises a variety of state officials, including governors, legislators, attorneys general and commissioners.
“The State Alliance believes that, at this time, the highest priority should be given to e-prescribing and the privacy and security of health information” the report states.
“E-prescribing is critically important to the advancement of e-health. Although the necessary infrastructure and standards for e-prescribing exist across the nation, the rate of adoption has been slow. The State Alliance recognizes e-prescribing as a gateway to other advances in e-health. Therefore, the State Alliance calls on states to lead these efforts and take action to drive adoption of e-prescribing.”
Privacy protections and security measures are essential to winning public trust in e-health efforts, the report says. “Thus states must be proactive in their efforts to ensure consistent and appropriate policies to protect information and ensure secure exchange.”
States should take a lead role in advocating automation in health care, according to the report. “To help their citizens reap the benefits of health information technology and health information exchanges, states must engage in collaborative, coordinated efforts with health care providers, the private sector and other states and the federal government to achieve their HIT and electronic HIE goals,” the report states.
To read the full report, “Accelerating Progress: Using Health Information Technology and Electronic Health Information Exchange to Improve Care,” click here.
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