NextGenWeb recently attended a Health IT Now coalition event where members of the coalition called on Congress to pass health information technology legislation this year.

In a briefing for Members of the House and Senate and their staff, former Congresswoman Nancy Johnson was joined by representatives from coalition member groups the American Diabetes Association, the Genetic Alliance, Consumers for Competitive Choice, and the Whitman-Walker Clinic.

Health It now believes Legislation is required to establish a process to set nationwide interoperable standards for systems that support electronic records for patients and health care professionals.

These interoperable standards are critical so that precious resources spent on deploying the technology can be leveraged to communicate seamlessly with other equipment and other systems.

Technology can provide a secure system for sharing information that could prevent as many as 98,000 deaths each year and eliminate medical errors.