WASHINGTON –  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told members of the House Ways and Means Committee last month that health reform is not contingent merely upon health IT adoption, but also on interoperability.

 Sebelius fielded questions on health reform legislation now brewing in Congress.

She told the panel that, “just shifting our paperwork to computers won’t work, unless we make it so they can talk to each other.” She also said including adequate privacy for interoperable data is a must.