GOP lawmaker wants health IT study to focus on errors

Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting that the nation's push for electronic medical records include a study of the medical error rates associated with this technology.

The Hill: Rep. Ellmers Wants Health IT Push To Focus On Errors
Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) said the push toward electronic medical records should include a thorough study of medical errors. Ellmers pressed for a greater emphasis on medical errors Thursday in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. She cited media reports of instances in which health information technology systems failed to catch human errors or raise red flags that doctors missed (Baker, 8/11).

CQ Health Beat: GOP Lawmaker Calls For Health IT Study
The head of the House Small Business Committee's panel on health would like federal officials to consider studying the cost, benefits and effectiveness of Health IT as well as the medical error rates of this technology. Renee Ellmers , who chairs the subcommittee on health care and technology, wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday asking her for such a review (8/11).

Meanwhile, privacy advocates push for stricter rules —

iWatch News: Privacy Advocates Want Stricter Rules For Online, Patient-Controlled Health Records
For 15 years, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has given patients a variety of privacy protections for personal health information obtained by medical providers. Unbeknownst to many, though, the same protections do not apply to records controlled by consumers. Privacy advocates say it's time that stricter standards apply to those records — but efforts to do just that have gone nowhere in Washington, and Congressionally mandated recommendations on how to make it happen are already 18 months late (Leonards, 8/12).