Bill Clinton: “I could not agree more. The majority leader comes to this debate with a lifetime of experience and expertise.…”

“I could not agree more. The majority leader comes to this debate with a lifetime of experience and expertise. Researchers at Dartmouth University found that we waste as much as one-third of the $1.8 trillion we spend on health care on care that is not necessary. Doctors write over 2 billion prescriptions each year by hand. With all respect to my doctors, some are unclear or even illegible. Handwritten prescriptions filled incorrectly result in as many as 7,000 deaths each year because we do not have access to a fail-safe system so that providing the prescription electronically, which also would trigger a response if it was interacting with another drug the patient was taking, is not yet available. With that data, it is difficult, sometimes even impossible, to track the quality of care patients receive. We cannot reward good providers or work to improve those who provide inferior care. Widening health care disparities really are a growing problem in our society. It is especially important because every moment that a doctor or a nurse spends with a patient is precious. For every hour that they spend with a patient, they spend one-half hour filling out those forms by hand. So we can save time, we can save money, and we can make it clear that this information will be easily electronically transportable where it is needed.”