Anna Eshoo: “I also want to raise the issue about my strong support for increased funding for Health Information Technology, often…”

“I also want to raise the issue about my strong support for increased funding for Health Information Technology, often referred to as Health IT. The adoption, I believe, of electronic health record systems I think will have a profound effect on the health care delivery in our country. I believe it will enhance patient safety, reduce medical errors, and improve the quality of care. For several years, the administration and the Congress have not committed enough funds to make this promise a reality in our country. I recognize the continued commitment to HIT that is in this year's Labor-HHS bill, $61 million, and I think we need to make a greater investment to make this a reality because it not only needs to be launched effectively, because we have to have interoperability, and without it we really won't have a Health IT system. So I want to thank the committee, most especially the chairman, for weeding through what is really a difficult bill to put together because we are constrained moneywise. But if there is any opportunity at conference, I want to urge optimizing that possibility.”