Bipartisan Policy Center: Need for greater consumer engagement, more public-private collaboration in health IT

Engaging patients through new technologies and expanding public-private collaborations are among the recommendations in a new report from the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center about leveraging health information technology to address problems in healthcare.

The report, Building a Strong Foundation for America’s Health Care System: The Role of Health Information Technology is part of the center’s health information technology initiative, which aims to identify and share policies and best practices to facilitate the effective use of health IT. At a discussion when the study was released, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), the center’s co-founder, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 25% of office-based physicians have adopted some form of health IT. Improving the coordination and alignment of health IT and reform efforts and integrating the lessons learned from previous health IT implementations are the other two recommendations. In its section on consumer engagement, the report suggested developing and executing strategies that both public- and private-sector leaders can use to involve consumers in wellness-related activities as well as delivery-system and payment reforms through health IT.