PRINTER'S NO. 1884
No. 275 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY C. WILLIAMS, WONDERLING, FERLO, BOSCOLA, PUNT,
LAVALLE, PIPPY, MUSTO, FONTANA, STOUT, TARTAGLIONE, RAFFERTY,
FOLMER, WOZNIAK, BAKER, WASHINGTON, ERICKSON, GREENLEAF,
O'PAKE, KASUNIC, ORIE, KITCHEN, STACK, DINNIMAN, LOGAN,
ARMSTRONG, BROWNE, EARLL, COSTA AND VANCE, APRIL 1, 2008
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, APRIL 1, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing May 12, 2008, as "Pennsylvania Health Care
2 Information Technology Awareness Day."
3 WHEREAS, Health care costs represent 16% of the gross
4 domestic product nationally; and
5 WHEREAS, Seventy percent of health care transactions are
6 paper-based; and
7 WHEREAS, The health care industry invests only 5% of revenue
8 on information technology and management systems, versus 10.5%
9 of other data-intensive industries such as banking; and
10 WHEREAS, Recent studies have demonstrated that widespread
11 adoption and effective use of health care technology, such as
12 electronic medical records systems and other information
13 management systems, can save the United States health care
14 system $162 billion annually; and
15 WHEREAS, The Institute of Medicine reports that there are at
16 least 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events per year, each
1 adding more than $8,700 to the cost of a hospital stay; and
2 WHEREAS, The United States spends more than $1.9 trillion on
3 health care annually, yet one-half of that spending is
4 unnecessary, spent on clinical and administrative waste, theft
5 and excess costs; and
6 WHEREAS, The American Hospital Association reports that this
7 Commonwealth's hospitals and health systems are outpacing
8 hospitals nationally in their adoption and use of clinical
9 information technology and information management systems; and
10 WHEREAS, Health care providers in this Commonwealth report an
11 improved ability to recruit physicians coming out of medical
12 school when advanced information technology is employed at their
13 sites; and
14 WHEREAS, Despite its leadership in this area, only 17% of
15 hospitals in this Commonwealth report that most of their medical
16 practitioners routinely use information technology for clinical
17 interventions such as ordering medications; therefore be it
18 RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize May 12, 2008, as
19 "Pennsylvania Health Care Information Technology Awareness Day";
20 and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the importance of raising
22 awareness of health care information technology and the vital
23 role it will play in helping to save lives and reduce the cost
24 of health care for all Pennsylvanians; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That the Senate welcome friends, supporters and
26 members of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems
27 Society on their visit to Harrisburg and the State Capitol to
28 promote better health care in this Commonwealth through broader
29 adoption of advanced health care information technology and
30 management systems on this Pennsylvania Health Care Information
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1 Technology Awareness Day.
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