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Congressional Affairs

Oversight Committee Evaluates Opportunities to Advance Health IT

Key Takeaway: Congressional interest in health IT continues to grow as evidenced by last week’s hearing by the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee.

Why It Matters: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the latest committee to dig into health information technology and interoperability. Among other things, committee members cited the lack of coordination among state and federal regulators and inconsistencies in the regulatory framework as top priorities for discussion during the hearing.

The subcommittees on Information Technology and Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules heard from a panel of witnesses including the administration’s top health IT official, Karen DeSalvo, M.D., national coordinator for health information technology and acting assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Committee members pointed to the likelihood that federal health privacy laws are hindering innovation and progress in health IT adoption. These projects would generate new evidence on safe health IT practices that could be used by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and others to inform health IT certification and other forms of policy guidance.”