WASHINGTON – Ten U.S. physician associations have joined together to release a list of principles intended to guide reform of the U.S. healthcare system. The physician groups say that they hope to provide guidance to national and state officials as healthcare reforms gather steam across the country.
“The American people want the new Congress to be a healthcare-focused Congress,” said Douglas Henley, MD, executive vice president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. “We hope that these principles help to push lawmakers in the direction of reform.”
One of the 11 reform principles calls, in part, for sufficient funds to support a “comprehensive health information technology infrastructure and implementation.” Henley said that although the physician groups did not include concrete proposals in the list of principles, widespread adoption of healthcare IT is critical to the reform of the U.S. healthcare system and must be addressed.
Lynne Kirk, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, said there are many practical ways to promote healthcare IT adoption as a significant component of fundamental reform.
Federal tax credits and grants, for example, would be a good way to help physicians recoup some of the high start-up costs required to implement electronic health records, she said.
“It’s extremely costly for small medical groups and individual physicians to acquire healthcare IT,” said Kirk. “We feel strongly that there needs to be financial support for physicians who want the technology necessary to coordinate care.”
Henley affirmed that all 10 physician associations agreed the principles could help Americans recognize that if healthcare reform were to last, it must be comprehensive and systemic, not “patchwork” in nature.
“None of these principles stands alone,” Henley said. “Each of our associations might have specific proposals we’re focused on, but the principles will guide the formulation of those proposals.”
“A truly reformed U.S. healthcare system would be one where IT is the central nervous system that allows for the transmission of information from any one point to any other,” Henley added.
“The key to making this happen is to provide adequate investment that includes contributions from all players in the process,” he said. “It’s also important to note that IT initiatives can’t happen in isolation. Adopting IT alone won’t achieve the systemic reform goals of improved quality and efficiency.”
The physician associations appear committed to acting on the reform principles by trying to ensure that healthcare IT legislative proposals move forward in Congress.
“The American College of Surgeons recognizes the importance of health information technology, but also recognizes the high costs of this technology for physicians offices,” said Thomas Russell, MD, executive director of the ACS. “We will continue to work with Congress to see that appropriate healthcare IT legislation is passed and signed into law.”
The Principles for Reform of the U.S. Healthcare System, as agreed upon by the 10 physician associations, are as follows:
Healthcare coverage for all is needed to ensure quality of care and to improve the health status of Americans.
The healthcare system in the U.S. must provide appropriate health care to all people within the U.S. borders, without unreasonable financial barriers to care.
Individuals and families must have catastrophic health coverage to provide protection from financial ruin.
Improvement of health care quality and safety must be the goal of all health interventions, so that we can assure optimal outcomes for the resources expended.
In reforming the healthcare system, we as a society must respect the ethical imperative of providing healthcare to individuals, responsible stewardship of community resources and the importance of personal health responsibility.
Access to and financing for appropriate health services must be a shared public/private cooperative effort, and a system that will allow individuals/employers to purchase additional services or insurance.
Cost management by all stakeholders, consistent with achieving quality healthcare, is critical to attaining a workable, affordable and sustainable healthcare system.
Less complicated administrative systems are essential to reduce costs, create a more efficient healthcare system, and maximize funding for healthcare services.
Sufficient funds must be available for research (basic, clinical, translational and health services), medical education and comprehensive health information technology infrastructure and implementation.
Sufficient funds must be available for public health and other essential medical services to include, but not be limited to, preventive services, trauma care and mental health services.
Comprehensive medical liability reform is essential to ensure access to quality healthcare.
