Reps. Barton, Dingell to introduce legislation that aims to spur nationwide adoption of electronic health records

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) and ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) on Tuesday plan to introduce a bill that would promote the adoption of a nationwide electronic health record system, CongressDaily reports.

According to CongressDaily, the lawmakers last month released a draft of the legislation that "generated a torrent of comments from the health care, high-tech and consumer advocacy communities," many of which focused on patient privacy concerns. In response to those concerns, the lawmakers clarified the definition of a security "breach" and increased patient privacy protections in the bill.

Under the bill, HHS would have to publish a list of entities that experience security breaches that affect more than 1,000 individuals, and health care providers would have to obtain consent from patients before they share their medical records. The legislation also would allow HHS to approve technologies equally or more effective than encryption and require notification of security breaches "without unreasonable delay," or within 60 days, whichever is first. The bill also would clarify that criminal penalties imposed under the federal medical privacy rule issued after the enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act apply to individuals who improperly obtain medical records.

In a statement on Monday, Dingell said, "Although shifting from paper to electronic health records would greatly benefit patients and health care providers, we currently lack the infrastructure to make this much-needed transition work," adding, "The provisions included in this bipartisan proposal will encourage faster adoption of health information technology while also ensuring that patients' health information is protected." Barton said that the bill represents a "fine beginning" to efforts to expand adoption of health IT and indicates "how people expect their most sensitive and personal information to be properly handled by their health care providers in the digital age."

Comments

A spokesperson for Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) praised the bill but raised concerns that some provisions "might put limitations on the ability of health care providers to implement a smooth system that works well and still protects the security of the information."

Deborah Peel, founder of Patient Privacy Rights, criticized the legislation. She said, "We still don't have a commonsense definition of privacy." Peel said that the legislation "needs to end the 'commodification' of health information because nobody should be able to use, sell, trade or disclose your electronic health records without your permission" (Noyes, CongressDaily, 6/24).

Editorial, Letter Address EHRs

Two newspapers recently published an editorial and a letter to the editor related to EHRs. Summaries appear below.

• New York Times: EHRs are praised "widely" as a "way to make medical care better and possibly cheaper," and "it is disturbing how slowly they are being adopted by American physicians," a Times editorial states. According to the editorial, in the event that the U.S. "does not accelerate the conversion from paper to modern technologies, many of the gauzy promises of health care reform made by politicians and health planners will become irrelevant." The "chief reasons American doctors cite for not moving into the electronic age" are the "high cost of buying and maintaining the equipment, the inability to find a system that met their needs and a concern that a system would quickly become obsolete," the editorial states, adding, "Other industrialized nations have moved faster because of strong national leadership in setting standards and helping to finance adoption." The editorial states, "Computers and information-sharing technologies have increased productivity and cut costs in other industries and are being applied in major medical centers," adding, "It is time to drag private physicians out of the paper age" (New York Times, 6/24).
• Ivan Seidenberg, USA Today: A June 12 article in USA Today about EHRs "highlighted the convenience they offer patients and providers alike," but that "only scratches the surface of the benefits," Seidenberg, chair and CEO of Verizon Communications, writes in a letter to the editor. According to Seidenberg, EHRs and other health care IT "tools can help prevent medical errors and eliminate the duplication of services and tests, saving lives and money," and, "if widely adopted, health IT would have the potential to save more than 250 lives and $452 million daily." The "authors of legislation pending before the House and Senate have addressed the crucial issue of privacy and security by asking expert government agencies, consumer interest groups and other parties to create effective safeguards," and lawmakers need "to pass this bill before the summer recess," Seidenberg writes (Seidenberg, USA Today, 6/24).