PA General Assembly Boosts Awareness of Healthcare Information Technology

HARRISBURG, Pa.--(Business Wire)--
Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and senior healthcare professionals
from around the Commonwealth will gather in Harrisburg on May 5 to promote
broader adoption of healthcare information technology to lower costs, reduce
medical errors and improve the quality of care.

To recognize the importance of the effort, the General Assembly, through
resolutions in the House and Senate, proclaimed May 5, 2009 "Pennsylvania
Healthcare Information Technology Awareness Day." Representative Josh Shapiro,
sponsor of the House resolution, believes the time has come for Pennsylvania to
act. "Seventy percent of all healthcare transactions are paper-based. In a time
when my three-year-old son can send me a text message, it does not make sense
that the vast majority of health care records are not digitized. Making records
digital will save money and lives."

Members of the Pennsylvania chapters of the Healthcare Information and
Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and 29 other sponsoring organizations
representing hospitals, health systems, information technology providers and
other healthcare groups are sponsoring the second annual event, which includes a
Technology Solutions Showcase on Monday, May 4 in the East Rotunda of the
Capitol.

The solutions fair will demonstrate to legislators how Pennsylvania providers
are positioned to support the HITECH provision of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) using information technology solutions today such as
electronic medical records (EMRs), health information exchanges (HIEs) and other
solutions to improve quality and reduce costs.

HIMSS, with 30,000 members nationwide and 2000 members in Pennsylvania, is the
nation`s largest healthcare technology membership association. The "PA
Healthcare IT Awareness Day" will bring more than 100 senior-level healthcare
stakeholders from across the Commonwealth to share their professional
experiences with the General Assembly on how information technology and
management systems can be used to drive better, more cost-effective care for
Pennsylvanians.

Recent studies have demonstrated that widespread adoption and effective use of
healthcare information technology such as electronic medical records and other
information management systems can help save lives and reduce the cost of
healthcare, potentially saving the U.S. $162 billion a year. Senator Mike
Folmer, Chairman of the Senate Communications and Technology Committee, said,
"This resolution will help to raise awareness of the importance of health care
information technology and the vital role that it will play in helping to save
lives and reduce the cost of health care for all Pennsylvanians."

For more information on this event please visit www.dvhimss.org or
www.wphimss.org.

for Delaware Valley HIMSS
Nancy Bucceri, 610-918-1505
nancy.bucceri@chaddsfordplanning.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009