I just saw that the 21st Century Cures legislation passed the house committee process. Word on the street is that Congress probably won’t take this up even if the house passes it this summer. The legislation looks pretty interesting for those of us in healthcare IT. Blair Childs, Premier’s senior vice president of public affairs, offered the following statement on the legislation:
Members of Premier wish to thank House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Representative Diana Degette (D-CO) for their leadership to advance interoperability standards as part of the landmark 21st Century Cures legislation. With today’s vote, the vision for a fully interoperable health information technology ecosystem is one step closer to becoming a reality.
We also wish to thank Committee members Joe Pitts (R-PA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Gene Green (D- TX), Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Doris Matsui (D-CA) for their support of interoperability standards in the legislation, and for their efforts to ensure that the technology systems of the future will be built using open source codes that enable applications to seamlessly exchange data/information across disparate systems in healthcare.
Today’s vote is an essential step to optimize HIT investments, improve the quality of care across settings and avoid the cost burdens associated with the work around solutions that are needed today for systems to “talk” to one another. We strongly urge the full House of Representatives to support these interoperability standards and to vote in favor of moving the legislation forward as it stands today.
Many of the comments he offers about ensuring interoperability is open source and support for standards of healthcare interoperability are great things. Although, as I think we learned with the meaningful use regulations, the devil is in the details and the 21st Centure Cures legislation is not simple. I’d love to hear from people who are following the legislation. Is this a good piece of legislation? Should it be passed? Are their hidden land mines? What are the unknowns or uncertain outcomes of the legislation?
When I saw this legislation hit my email inbox it has me asking how people keep up with legislation. Not to mention, what’s the process for creating this legislation? Just thinking of the process makes me tired and overwhelmed. Is it any wonder that lobbyists are so powerful? It really takes someone whose full time job it is to track and influence legislation to really get something done. The process and legislation is so complex that a casual follower just can’t keep up. I think that’s really unfortunate. I’m not sure the solution though either.
Morning eHealth http://www.politico.com/morningehealth/ does a good job of tracking and explaining what’s gone on. While I don’t always agree with their comments, they’ve stayed on top of developments, identified the players and possibilities. In this particular case, there are two major outcomes. First, is the bill itself. Not far behind is its unanimous approval, a true rarity.
As to the influence of lobbyists and money on Congress, there are times when being a disenfranchised DC resident is almost an advantage. At least we can’t be held responsible for what Congress does.
Carl,
Thanks for sharing. I like the added details on what’s happening with the bill. It gets so complex, so quickly. I think you were the one that first told me, “You have to get a bill passed if you want to know what’s in the bill.”