Exciting developments on the health IT frontier were in the spotlight at today’s Institute for e-Health Policy event titled “Progress Toward a Nationwide Health Information Network: Linking Agency-Held data Now – Providing Patients with Secure Access to Government-Held Personal Information Next.” Presenters included Vish Sankaran, Program Director for Federal Health Architecture; Jim Traficant, Vice President of Healthcare Solutions at Harris Corporation; David Riley with FHA CONNECT Initiative Lead; and Denny Porter, Executive in Residence at the Institute for e-Health Policy.

Health IT has been gaining traction in policy circles for good reason. The patient and provider benefits that could stem from increased adoption of health IT are substantial—from enhanced care to sizable cost-savings and job creation. As Traficant put it, “The health care system is the greatest economic threat to this generation…and we will continue to be at risk until we implement completely interoperable health IT standards.”

Much of the discussion was focused on the establishment of a nationwide health information network. Sankaran outlined three primary elements of such a network. They include making the process easy and standardized, ensuring that health IT is an integral part of all care being provided, and innovating once the proper amount of data has been collected. Porter highlighted the need for a Federal Health Record Gateway that would make electronic health records readily available online on a single secure portal.

As Traficant pointed out, a wide array of industries have already begun to experience the benefits of an interoperable network. Now it’s time for the health care industry, and the millions of American patients and providers who rely on it, to do the same.

Click below to watch full archived footage from NextGenWeb’s live stream of the event.

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