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Health Care: Continued Leadership Needed to Define and Implement Information Technology Standards

GAO-05-1054T Published: Sep 29, 2005. Publicly Released: Sep 29, 2005.
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Highlights

Health care delivery in the United States has long-standing problems with medical errors and inefficiencies that increase costs. Hence, health information technology (IT) has great potential to improve the quality of care, bolster preparedness of our public health infrastructure, and save money on administrative costs. The threats of natural disasters and terrorist attacks further underscore the need for interoperable information systems, and the critical importance of defining and implementing standards that would enable such interoperability. GAO has reported on the quality of care benefits derived by using IT, federal agencies' existing and planned information systems to support national preparedness for public health emergencies, and the status of health IT standards settings initiatives. The House Committee on Government Reform asked GAO to summarize (1) its previously issued reports and recommendations on health IT standards and (2) recent actions taken by HHS to facilitate the development of health IT standards.

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AccountabilityElectronic health recordsInformation technologyInteragency relationsInteroperabilityIT standardsMedical information systemsStandardsStrategic planningQuality-of-care