Medical Safety Automation Fund Testimony
Good afternoon. My name is Bruce MacLeod, a practicing emergency medicine physician from Pittsburgh, and I also serve as the vice chair of the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Board of Trustees.
Let me begin by thanking Chairman Corman and the members of this committee for hosting today’s hearing.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society is here to discuss Senate Bill 934, known as the Medical Safety Automation Fund Act. To the best of my understanding, this program would create grants to help health care providers or regional health information organizations purchase health information technology to move Pennsylvania forward on initiatives related to electronic medical records.
In recent years, President Bush challenged the health care system including doctors, administrators, IT professionals, and insurers to work together so that every American can have an electronic health record within 10 years. And, he had good reasons to make this challenge.
Let me begin with a story about George Washington, the first President of the United States. Two hundred years ago it is believed that he died from acute epiglottis which is an inflection and swelling tissue in the back of the throat. He received medical care of that era including bleeding to try to save his life. Thankfully, the field of Medicine has progressed over the last 200 years such that the current surgical and medical therapies make the risk of death from adult epiglottis very unusual. But how do we know what happened to George Washington? We know that because the physician wrote the information on paper. Two hundred years later we are still writing on paper.
Unfortunately, throughout the country, health information technology lags behind other industries. Consider this. I can go to California and read my hometown newspaper over the Web just as if I was sitting at my kitchen table reading it. I can go to Illinois, and stay in touch through email with my coworkers. But, as a patient and as a doctor, if I get sick in either of these states, neither my doctor nor I can routinely access my health records online. In fact, I can’t drive a short distance from my own front door and electronically keep in touch with my medical records.
There are initiatives currently underway in Pennsylvania to improve this situation and work towards meeting President Bush’s electronic challenge. The Pennsylvania Medical Society is proud to be partnering with Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania, and more than 40 other organizations on a state-of-the-art, secure health information network that will improve the patient-doctor relationship, create safer environments for patients, and allow doctors to help patients faster.
Known as the Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative, this collaborative plans to create an electronic patient data network that will ultimately tie into a national system allowing patients and doctors to securely access medical records throughout the country. The initiative will work with providers, health insurers, businesses, and government to inform health care stakeholders and all Pennsylvanians of the benefits of utilizing electronic health records; interconnect all health care stakeholders to make health information available; address legal and policy issues which could impede the development of regional health information organizations (RHIOs); enable secure, confidential access to health information; and enable patient access and control of their health information.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society is also proudly working with Highmark on another similar e-health initiative that will bring electronic prescribing technology into doctor offices.
The benefits of a seamless program will outweigh any concern. The Pennsylvania Medical Society along with many other credible sources believe that when fully implemented, electronic medical records will eventually
Save lives
Reduce errors
Eliminate duplication of services and thus save health care dollars
Provide a secure and trusted source for both doctors and patients to collect and review vital health information
However, initiatives like the above do come at a price at a time when health care dollars are tight. I’m sure you’re quite aware of that.
And, that’s why the Medical Safety Automation Fund Act is so important. There are a number of obstacles impeding the adoption and implementation of electronic health records not the least is financial resources. Without appropriate funding, electronic health projects likely will be slow in adoption.
Let me describe how Senate Bill 934 will aide in patient care.
A state legislator presents to an emergency department with chest pain at 8 p.m. at night. The patient says that she had a cardiac catheterization or angiogram and other tests 2 months ago in her home district. How do I get this information? HIPPA makes information between health care practitioners and facilities cumbersome and time consuming. And many therapies and evaluations are time dependent for optimal care. If I know the results of the cardiac catheterization, I can tailor the evaluation and treatment such as whether the patient needs to receive clot dissolving therapy or be admitted or should I be considering other diseases more likely.
If a seamless electronic medical records system is in place, the patient’s medical information more easily travels with him or her to the location where further care will be provided. This would save time and money and reduce errors within the health care environment. Simply put, if we have a seamless system, then it will lead to better patient care.
However, we believe there are two minor areas of the bill that deserve further review.
Section 6 of the bill requires applicants to provide a feasibility study, business plan, and a strategic plan.While these may be reasonable requirements for large providers, the Pennsylvania Medical Society believes that they will be too burdensome for most physician practices. Many smaller practices do not have the expertise in-house to fulfill this requirement, which may deter them from applying for the grant. If that happens, grants will be disproportionately awarded to larger practices and hospitals. Such an outcome would be most unfortunate. The Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, led by Dr. David Brailer, has specifically targeted physician practices as key to driving a nationwide conversion to electronic records and other health information technologies. In a survey of Pennsylvania physicians the Society conducted last summer, 54% of respondents stated that they had no plans to implement electronic medical records or electronic prescribing in the foreseeable future. Financial incentives, such as the grants proposed in this bill, will reduce some of the financial risk of investing in technology. Perhaps these requirements should be modified for physician practices.
In conclusion, Senate Bill 934, the Medical Safety Automation Fund Act, is indeed a step forward in many areas including patient safety. And, as an investment in the future, it should reap dividends later by saving future health care dollars as systems are implemented.
Again, the Pennsylvania Medical Society thanks Senator Corman and the members of this committee for allowing us to testify today.
Last Updated: 10/12/2007