Washington, D.C.-based Center for American Progress (CAP), a nonpartisan research and educational institute, has formulated a plan that it says is designed to improve the American healthcare system through the use of health IT.
According to the CAP report, improving healthcare can be realized if immediate changes are made to policies promoting health IT systems.
CAP contends that the following steps need to be taken immediately:
· Establish national health IT interoperability standards
· Expand health privacy protections for personal electronic health records
· Ensure the security of electronic health records
· Set up a health IT infrastructure improvement fund to lead investment in health IT systems for safety-net providers
· Create a health IT "information commons" to promote data sharing and research
· Make major public and private investments in comparative effectiveness research
The institute touts that its Navigating American Health Care report outlines the necessary steps to convert the healthcare system into an industry that provides a healthy life for all Americans.
