States are moving at an unprecedented rate to get their healthcare systems wired and connected. According to a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, lawmakers around the country introduced more than 370 bills relating to health IT during an 18-month period between 2007 and 2008.
Specifically, 132 bills containing health IT provisions were enacted in 44 states and the District of Columbia. That is three times as many bills enacted compared with the same period from 2005 to 2006. The majority of bills relate to financing and planning efforts. Six states enacted comprehensive measures aimed at protecting patient privacy while facilitating the exchange of health data.
"This is a healthcare IT revolution in that state governments and their federal partners are moving toward a seamless, integrated system of information sharing ranging from patient medical records to insurance claims to filling a patient's drug prescription," said state Sen. Richard Moore of Massachusetts.
Read the report.
