PRINTER'S NO. 1821
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
374
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY AUMENT, GREENLEAF, BARTOLOTTA, EICHELBERGER,
FOLMER, DINNIMAN, FARNESE, RESCHENTHALER, BROWNE,
TARTAGLIONE, FONTANA, WHITE, RAFFERTY, YUDICHAK, SCAVELLO,
COSTA, VOGEL AND BREWSTER, MAY 17, 2016
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 17, 2016
A RESOLUTION
Designating May 17, 2016, as "Pennsylvania Health Care
Information Technology Awareness Day" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, United States health care spending grew 5.3% in
2014, reaching $3 trillion or $9,523 per person, according to
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and
WHEREAS, As a share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product,
health spending accounted for 17.5% in 2014; and
WHEREAS, Spending on health care has risen over 40% in the
last decade; and
WHEREAS, The health care industry could save over $8 billion
annually by completely switching from paper-based to electronic
transactions; and
WHEREAS, The health care industry invests only 5% of its
revenue on information technology and management systems versus
10.5% of other data-intensive industries, such as banking; and
WHEREAS, A recent study by the Commonwealth Fund has
demonstrated that the use of automated clinical decision support
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systems can result in a net reduction of $538 per patient per
hospital stay; and
WHEREAS, The Institute of Medicine reports there are at least
1.5 million preventable adverse drug events per year, each
adding more than $8,700 to the cost of a hospital stay; and
WHEREAS, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
reports that, between 2011 and 2015, 50,607 providers and
facilities in Pennsylvania received $1.4 billion in Federal
incentive payments to implement electronic health records; and
WHEREAS, Ninety-seven percent of eligible hospitals and 56%
of ambulatory health care providers in Pennsylvania have
adopted, upgraded or demonstrated meaningful use of an
electronic health record system in 2015; and
WHEREAS, Health care providers in this Commonwealth report an
improved ability to recruit physicians coming out of medical
school when advanced information technology is deployed at their
sites; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, Senate Bill 8 was signed into law, enacting
the Pennsylvania eHealth Information Technology Act and
establishing the Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority and
a health information exchange; and
WHEREAS, By 2015, four of this Commonwealth's health
information organizations signed agreements to join the
Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority's Pennsylvania
Patient and Provider Network, a critical step toward a Statewide
health information exchange; and
WHEREAS, Supporters and members of the Healthcare Information
and Management Systems Society encourage the continued funding
of operations to support the ongoing advancement of a Statewide
health information exchange; therefore be it
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RESOLVED, That the Senate designate May 17, 2016, as
"Pennsylvania Health Care Information Technology Awareness Day"
in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the importance of raising
awareness of health care information technology and the
advancement of the health information exchange to help improve
the quality of care, save lives and reduce the cost of health
care for all Pennsylvanians; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate welcome members and supporters of
the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society to the
State Capitol to promote better health care in this Commonwealth
through broader adoption of health care information technology
and the advancement of a Statewide health information exchange.
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