Intel's Barrett urges employer leadership to transform healthcare
Karla Hurter |
September 26, 2006 |
Barrett addresses health information technology leaders at eHI's HIT Summit
September 26, 2006, Washington, D.C. With the rising cost of health care threatening US competitiveness, lntel Chairman Craig R. Barrett urged employers to use their purchasing power to create a more effective, efficient system. Barrett spoke before leaders at the Third Annual HIT Summit, co-sponsored by the eHealth Initiative (eHI) and Bridges to Excellence in Washington, D.C.
Barrett called for employers to exercise their influence as the largest purchasers of healthcare to drive improvements in care delivery, reducing costs and improving quality.
The current healthcare system is economically unsustainable and negatively impacting our nation's ability to compete globally, said Barrett, also a member of the U.S. Health and Human Services' American Health Information Community. Its time for a systemic transformation, and U.S. employers must lead.
Barrett said an explosion in healthcare costs is affecting U.S. competitiveness and the stability of corporations across the country.
Part of the reason no large-scale solution exists is that we have been distracted by the debate of who pays, Barrett said. Our focus should be on achieving higher quality healthcare at a reduced cost. Barrett said the system could be transformed through broader adoption of technology, new models for delivering care, and more leadership from large employers to drive change.
The Summit drew hundreds of national, regional and state healthcare decision makers to Washington to discuss current policies related to both quality and health information technology (HIT) emerging from the Administration, Congress, the fifty states, and the private sector.
The confluence of efforts from both the private and public sectors offers an opportunity to significantly improve the quality, safety and effectiveness of healthcare for all Americans, said Janet Marchibroda, eHIs chief executive officer.
About eHealth Initiative
The eHealth Initiative is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to drive improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. eHI engages multiple stakeholders, including clinicians, consumer and patient groups, employers, health plans, healthcare IT suppliers, hospitals and other providers, laboratories, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, pharmacies, public health, and public sector agencies, as well as its growing coalition of more than 280 state, regional and community-based collaboratives, to develop and disseminate common principles, policies and best practices for improving the quality, safety and effectiveness of America's healthcare through information and information technology.
For more information, go to http://www.ehealthinitiative.org.
