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Harvard prof will head health technology effort

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor March 20, 2009 12:29 PM

The Obama administration today is announcing that David Blumenthal, a Harvard Medical professor who is director of the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, will be national coordinator for health information technology.

In his new post, he will be in charge of nearly $20 billion in the economic stimulus package to build health IT, including encouraging more doctors and hospitals to use computers.

“President Obama believes we must take serious steps to modernize our healthcare system in order to improve the health of all Americans, bring down costs, and ensure sustained long-term economic growth. Health information technology is a critical part of the President’s strategy to reform our health care system and as one of the nation’s leading health information technology experts, Dr. Blumenthal has the experience and the vision to help make this effort a reality,” Jenny Backus, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

“As a practicing physician and a leading scholar on health information technology, Dr. Blumenthal is uniquely qualified to help America’s doctors, nurses, hospitals, and patients reap the benefits of a modernized health system. Dr. Blumenthal shares President Obama’s commitment to investing in a health IT infrastructure that will protect patient privacy, and improve both quality and efficiency in our nation’s health system.”

Senator Edward M. Kennedy applauded the choice of Blumenthal, who was on Kennedy’s health staff from 1977 to 1980.

"President Obama has made an inspired choice in selecting David Blumenthal to lead the Administration’s effort to bring health care into the digital age. David is the right person to oversee this major initiative to reduce costs, avoid errors, improve care, and save lives,” Kennedy said in a statement.

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This is an inspired choice. Dr. Blumenthal is smart and highly effective as a policy expert and a manager. It is a striking change from the approach taken by the Bush administration to put loyalty over competence.

Posted by Bill Star March 20, 09 01:26 PM
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I am a Dutch Citizin and I live in the Netherlands. We have adopted every new technology available to lower the cost and improve the quality of healthcare and I can tell you that costs are moving up and qualiy is moving down because of Technology. .

Posted by John March 20, 09 02:16 PM
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John - Any facts to back up your theory that because of Technology, the healthcare quality is going down while the costs are increasing ?

Posted by Nathan March 20, 09 02:43 PM
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John, It isn't the technology that is the problem... that actually is a good idea. Nationalization and Universal health... universally leads to poor access to care. To keep costs down, governments cut equipment, locations, staff and medicine. And you end up paying the same anyway with higher taxes. There is a ton of data to support this too. Google "wait lists" and "health care" and you'll find a ton of articles with data detailing horror stories from those countries we are constantly told have full coverage and are much more civilized. There sure.. everyone has health care, but if you're elderly you'll probably die waiting for your surgery to be scheduled.

Posted by George March 20, 09 03:21 PM
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Not the best choice. MGH does not have a wonderful CPOE system. We needed someone who actual understands technology - not someone who will pontificate about it. MGH does not use e-Health records. What practical experience does he bring to the debate? The Obama administration has just given a scholar 20 billion dollars to blow on theoretical approaches to eHealth. So much for hope!

Posted by Mikey March 20, 09 04:36 PM
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I fail to see how anyone connected with the fraudulent U.S. health care industry can bring about effective change. All they do is treat the symptoms with expensive, dangerous, life shortening prescription drugs and operations.

Macau and Andorra have the longest life expectancies in the world. Neither country provides much in the way of U.S. provided healthcare.

So why do they live longer than anyone else on the planet? They eat diets rich in organic food and eat very little processed food, and virtually no food imported from the United States.

It is possible to live long, healthy, productive lives free of disease. Just eat healthy foods and stay away from non-organic factory farmed foods, and especially stay away from AMA doctors and prescription drugs!

Here's how:
TheGardenDiet.com

Posted by Kevin Schmidt March 20, 09 07:21 PM
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In discussing HIT, the importance of building an accurate electronic health record is of utmost importance. As a family physician on the front lines, the clinical ehr info I receive from other physicians are many times inaccurate. The legacy EHR systems certified by CCHIT will not be interoperable in our lifetime. Potentially, the only portable, interoperable health record is from pharmacy. The information, as required by law, is inputted by a health care professional...a pharmacist, Knowing an accurate, real-time pharmacy record gives physicians a tremendous amount of information to take care of our patients.

Posted by Chris Ewin, MD March 20, 09 10:35 PM
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