Senate Healthcare Reform Bill's IT Provisions Make Sense

As the Senate begins debating its healthcare reform bill, there's several health IT related provisions that aren't likely to stir a lot of emotion on the Senate floor, but deserve some attention. Among the proposals of the Senate's "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" is the call to develop interoperable and secure standards to facilitate the electronic enrollment of individuals in federal and state health and human services programs. When it comes to funding, among other health IT-related grants proposed in the Senate bill is a provision for one or more demonstration projects on the use of health IT in skilled nursing homes. The bill also supports the use of health IT in the management of chronically ill patients in their own homes--especially to reduce hospitalizations.