Obama pledges to pursue health IT, despite economic woes

President-elect Barack Obama vowed on Thursday to pursue the use of health information technology aggressively, while his pick to head the Health and Human Services Department said he viewed health IT as a key part of the new administration's stimulus package.

Some might think this is not the time for spending on health care. Even those who might favor a National Health Care Plan of some type, might think this is not the right time.  And, I know this article refers to health care technology.  (My field.)  But, I heard something the other day that gave me pause as far as the auto industry.

The auto workers in most other countries have national health insurance and many other social safety nets, and so the auto manufacturers in these countries don't have to shoulder that burden.  Largely speaking, our government doesn't offer anything to the worker, and as a country we've chosen to place much of the burden on industry.  That worked well.  But, now it seems to me this is part of a complicated situation brought on by globalization.

The report I most recently heard estimated that 10% of the cost of a car was due to the higher pensions and insurance and "social network"-related packages auto workers are given.  (Sorry I don't have a reference, and hope my memory is trustworthy.)

Don't know what this means.  Other than it seems to be part of a very complicated situation!

Pooch Dog

And, more from the article...

Obama did not provide details, but the plan he released during the campaign called for a $10 billion a year investment during the next five years to move the nation to broad adoption of health IT systems, including electronic health records. The investment would yield savings of $77 billion a year, if most hospitals and doctors adopted health IT and electronic health records, Obama postulated in the plan. The savings would result from shorter hospital stays, fewer duplicative and unnecessary tests, more appropriate drug regimes, and other efficiencies, according to the plan.

The plan's goals are similar to a health IT project that President Bush kicked off in 2004 to create a system that would provide electronic health records for the majority of Americans by 2014. The investment Obama promised in his campaign is much larger than the Bush administration's commitment to health IT.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081212_8804.php?zone=ngtoday

Do you use a news reader? Makes it very easy to monitor the 'Prairie Pooch Hole' and other feeds! Click on this line for instructions.