Subcommittee approves HIT legislation.

The Subcommittee on Health recently approved H.R. 6357, the "Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment, and Easing Communication through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008" or the PRO(TECH)T Act, which was forwarded to the full Committee by voice vote. The bipartisan legislation is designed to strengthen the quality of healthcare, reduce medical errors and costs by encouraging the adoption of health information technology (HIT), and providing greater privacy and security to health information. The legislation promotes the nationwide adoption of an HIT infrastructure and establishes incentives for doctors, hospitals, insurers, and the government to exchange health information electronically across the country. H.R. 6357 also makes permanent the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services while furthering the goal of an electronic health record for each person in the U.S. by 2014. The legislation also strengthens the law protecting the security and privacy of an individual's health information through provisions such as requiring notification when personal health information is breached.

H.R. 6357 builds on a discussion draft released by Representatives John Dingell, D-Mich., and Frank Pallone, D-N.J., along with Representatives Joe Barton, R-Texas, Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Nathan Deal, R-Ga., Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health, on May 22, 2008. On June 4, 2008, the Subcommittee held a hearing in which witnesses from the Administration and representatives from consumer, technological, and privacy groups provided feedback on the draft legislation.

Additional information on H.R. 6357 is available on the Committee's Web site at http://energycommerce.house.gov.