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According to David W. Roberts, MPA, FHIMSS, vice president for government relations for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), "President Bush may become only the second U.S. president in history to sign major health information technology (HIT) legislation; the first being President Clinton, who signed the HIPAA legislation in 1996. On May 24, the House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Health marked up H.R.4157, the Health Information Technology Promotion Act of 2005, setting the stage for full committee action. The House Energy & Commerce Committee is also working on HIT legislation. Therefore, it is highly likely the full U.S. House of Representatives will vote on some version of H.R.4157 this year.

"This legislation amends the Social Security Act to encourage the dissemination, security, confidentiality, and usefulness of health information technology. Key provisions of the legislation include:The establishment of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology as a permanent federal office;

• Safe harbors for health information technology and training services;
  
  
• A report on the American Health Information Community's accomplishments with respect to the development of a national health information network and increased adoption of health information technology;
  
  
• A strategic plan for coordinating implementation of health information technology not later than 180 days after the passage of the legislation; and
  
  
• A study to determine the extent of variations in state health information laws and regulations.

"The Senate passed health information technology legislation last November. However, the full House must pass its bill before the two can be reconciled and sent to the president to be signed into law. The Senate bill, S.1418, the Wired for Health Care Quality Act enhances the adoption of a nationwide interoperable health information technology system.

"Thus, the stage is set. However, we need healthcare professionals to call their members of Congress now and request their support of H.R. 4157. While there is no such thing as perfect legislation, this is a start. This is an opportunity to make healthcare information technology part of the federal dialogue in Washington. It's a matter of working with Congress now to pass legislation or waiting another 4, or possibly 8 years, until the stage is set again.

"The Institute of Medicine report, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, was published 5 years ago. It cited five key areas in which IT could contribute to an improved healthcare delivery system. These included access to the medical knowledge base, computer-aided decision support, collection and sharing of clinical information, reduction in errors, and enhanced patient and clinical communication.

"At this point, we must ask ourselves and members of Congress, how many more reports do we need? How many more people need to become ill or die due to medical errors? How much more money do we need to waste?

"Healthcare professionals know first-hand the benefits of health information technology. Call your members of Congress and tell them about your personal and professional experiences. The benefits are real and profound. Health information technology, such as electronic health records and electronic prescribing, dramatically improves the quality of care patients receive — from increased compliance with treatment regimens to documented avoidance of adverse drug events.

"The application of IT offers widespread benefits. However, it is no good to most Americans if these technologies are not in the hands of providers. These two bills represent crucial first steps in making IT more widely available. Your support of these bills will begin the steady progress so desperately needed in America if we are to realize the tremendous benefits IT offers to our healthcare system."