As noted at the bottom of this article we all know this but now it is official since imagemembers of Congress rely on reports and information from the GAO.  This is good for Health IT to have this fact documented, no matter it took so every person in Congress can come to terms with this fact and hopefully used the numbers and information the GAO reported.

Now on a similar note, I wonder how many members of Congress actually use any type of a personal health record?  I think that is a good question as using one will stand t increase their digital consumer literacy and awareness and don’t the staff pick up this area of responsibility as it is your life and not theirs as they can get their own PHR as this is a consumer product, and it’s free from many.  How about that anesthesiologist that wants his US government health insurance, there’s a good place to start with one who should know the value of a PHR – wonder if he has one?

More Congressional Testimonies About Health IT–Members of Congress Could Entertain Getting an “Algo Man” on Staff As Wall Street and Health Insurers Have Them–Don’t Leave Home Without One

Good work on those algorithms that created this report from the GAO so there’s hopefully one less thing to argue about in Congress and again maybe this will spur some real Health IT participation at those levels, just like they want us to to.  BD

In a new report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) took a look at electronic health records (EHRs) as they relate to improving health care and cutting costs. It examines the stories of 15 health care providers that have formed integrated delivery systems (IDSs).

These particular IDSs were of interest to the GAO because their patient rolls include what the government defines as “underserved populations,” that is, people facing economic, geographic, cultural or linguistic barriers to care, including Medicaid enrollees and rural populations. The government provides a safety net for many such patients — and legislators have to find room in the budget to fund it.

To health care providers who are advanced EHR users, the contents of the report might sound like a long-winded, taxpayer-funded waste of stating the obvious. Legislators, however, rely on GAO findings to help guide them in their craft. With a divided Congress convening, it’s nice that health IT leaders will have a positive report from a source they know speak legislators’ language. It could come in handy for future reference when the hyperbole ratchets up in Capitol Hill debates.

EHR systems can cut health care costs, GAO reports - Health IT Pulse

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