Chapter 9
Health Care Reform
The U.S. health care system, commonly faulted for failing to provide high quality and safe care, is also plagued by exorbitantly high costs. Inadequate quality, performance, efficiency, and access to care are cited as the most prevalent challenges facing our country’s delivery of health care. Care reinvention and payment reform are two of the main vehicles by which the country may address these problems.
Health information technology (HIT) has been recognized for its potential to decrease costs, improve health outcomes, coordinate care, and improve public health. In 2004 President Bush issued an executive order calling for the widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and initiated efforts to spur HIT ...
