Barbara Mikulski

We see it as all the same story.

These goals remain essential to improving the quality of our Nation's health system.

We need to say good-bye to silo thinking in which quality is over here, cost is there, and so on.

You need integrative medicine to help create the kinds of teams we are talking about, but you need integrative healthcare because it is really the new paradigm.

Do they have depression, or have they been given antidepressive medication? I don't consider those to be the same thing.

They have to be viewed as an essential part of primary care, not 'isn't it swell if we could afford it?'

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will come to order.

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So, as we develop interoperability, we go for the goals that have been set here, that, ultimately, whatever we are developing should be improving healthcare outcomes and enabling all who are involved in patient care to be able to do this.

When you look at your testimony, what Dr. Bill Frist has said, what Newt has said, we all know the ultimate endgame that we want to achieve.

We want to keep the word 'health' and not just be looking at this as a new insurance scheme.

Our President has got it, and he wants to do it.

The appointment of Senator Daschle, soon to be our Secretary of Health and Human Resources as well as the health czar.

Thank you. That was excellent. It really complements with what Mr. Cochran says and this whole issue of not only having it, but using it.

Well, you have covered a lot of ground. And just looking at your testimony; we could just spend all morning in a dialogue with you, and we will be coming back.

I hope you are not recommending that we develop a health score because for each and every one of us, there would be a lot of pass and fails going along with it.

I think what we need to do is take your input. I think you have given us excellent guiding principles over what we need to do and also what we need to be considering in the health stimulus.

Well, I appreciate this comment because there is a consensus. Go ahead with it. Be skeptical because that is a good thing.

Making the wrong investments in HIT could simply result in doing the wrong things faster.

There is great desire in our country for change, and one of the areas is in healthcare.

Quality is about saving lives or improving the delivery of service and then saving money.

I think you are a high-altitude, high-achieving guy, and I think you will absolutely lead our Department of Education.

One week from now, we will be heading to the platform for the inauguration of President-elect Obama.