Political Quotes

“Mr. Secretary, I want to talk for a moment about how important it is to encourage physicians to adopt e-prescribing. Some studies suggest that e-prescribing could save the Nation tens of billions of dollars. It can prevent doctors from prescribing a drug to a patient when he is allergic to it. It can prevent doctors from prescribing a drug that could cause dangerous interactions with a drug the patient is already taking. It can help doctors better use health plan formularies, saving themselves time and their patients money. Senator Sununu knew this years ago. Well ahead of others, he was pushing to give incentives to physicians to buy and implement e-prescribing systems. Senator Sununu introduced a bill 3 years ago, but Congress wasn't ready to take his lead. We should be ready now. Studies show that only 11 percent of physicians are using e-prescribing. Adopting e-prescribing isn't cost-free to doctors. Not only must they invest in the technology, but they also must reengineer their practices. This means lost time and money. And many doctors, especially rural doctors, cannot afford that. So providing some financial incentives to get them started makes a lot of sense. There is bipartisan support for e-prescribing. Many members of the Finance Committee, Democrats and Republicans alike, have said how important they think it is. The administration, too, supports e-prescribing as an integral part of electronic health records.”