The Bipartisan Policy Center's Health Project has launched a Task Force on Delivery System Reform and Health IT. Co-chaired by former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist, now co-leaders of the Health Project, the group includes 24 health system experts and leaders.
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"I'm pleased to lead this critical effort on the behalf of the Bipartisan Policy Center and proud of the task force we've assembled, which includes leaders from every sector of healthcare," said Frist at a June 2 launch event in Washington, D.C.
Later this year, the task force will release recommendations for aligning current health IT efforts to best use scarce public and private resources in support of new care delivery models that will improve quality of care.
"The task force will identify examples of organizations who have promoted accountable, patient-centered care," Frist said (pictured at right). "We will highlight opportunities for and challenges related to leveraging health IT to support these new models of care. The task force will recommend key actions that must be taken to lay the foundation for delivery system and payment reforms that promise to improve health and healthcare in this country."
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The group released a progress report, "The Role of Health IT in Supporting Health Care Transformation: Building a Strong Foundation for America's Health Care System," which outlines opportunities for leveraging health IT to support delivery system reforms and offers several recommendations to help accelerate progress on health IT implementation issues.
The report recommends improving coordination and alignment of health IT and reform efforts to identify opportunities for synergy and develop shared solutions for common needs; integrating lessons learned from early implementation efforts associated with large-scale programs to address unanticipated needs and issues; and enhancing strategies for engaging consumers in reform efforts through the use of health IT and emerging consumer technologies.
The report also recommends increasing the focus and public-private sector collaboration on expanding implementation assistance and workforce training, particularly for small physical practices, small hospitals and clinics that support rural and underserved populations. It also recommends collaborating on a strategy for achieving privacy-protected health information exchange.
"An important first step in the transformation of our healthcare system is the continued development and widespread use of health IT," said Daschle. "The report we are releasing today highlights the many efforts in the public and private sectors that are already underway, promising to generate creative solutions, instruments and incentives to drive the successful and widespread adoption of health IT. Our recommendations show that, if used wisely, health IT promises smarter, coordinated and more efficient healthcare. We have compiled a top-notch group of experts on our task force who will develop a careful plan, which we hope will build on existing efforts and capitalize on health IT's great potential to improve quality and reduce costs."
The BPC's Health Project was launched in January. In addition to Daschle and Frist, the project is also led by former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
The list of task force members is on the next page.
BPC's Task Force on Delivery System Reform and Health IT:
- Former Sen. Tom Daschle, co-chairman;
- Former Sen. Bill Frist, co-chairman;
- Scott Armstrong, president and chief executive officer of the Group Health Cooperative;
- Peter Basch, MD, FACP, medical director for ambulatory EHR and health information technology policy for MedStar Health;
- Christine Bechtel, vice president of the National Partnership for Women and Families;
- David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, Harvard University, former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for the Department of Health and Human Services;
- Christine Cassell, MD, president of the American Board of Internal Medicine;
- Reginald Coopwood, MD, president and chief executive officer of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, Tenn.;
- Janet Corrigan, PhD, president and chief executive officer of the National Quality Forum;
- Michigan Gov. John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable;
- Alissa Fox, senior vice president of the Office of Policy and Representation at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association;
- Douglas E. Henley, MD, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the American Academy of Family Physicians;
- Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive officer of America's Health Insurance Plans;
- Brent James, MD, chief quality officer and executive director of the Institute for Health Care Delivery Research at Intermountain Health Care;
- David Lansky, PhD, chief executive officer of the Pacific Business Group on Health;
- Jack Lewin, MD, chief executive officer of the American College of Cardiology;
- Deven McGraw, director of the Health Privacy Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology;
- Margaret O'Kane, president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance;
- Stephen Palmer, state health IT coordinator and director of the Office of e-Health Coordination for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission;
- Herb Pardes, MD, president and chief executive officer of New York Presbyterian Hospital;
- John Rother, executive vice president of policy, strategy and international affairs for the AARP;
- South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, state co-leader for the BPC Health Project;
- Michael Simpson, vice president and general manager of healthcare knowledge and connectivity solutions at GE Healthcare;
- Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, state co-leader for the BPC Health Project;
- Tony Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of the Ascension Health System; and
- Betsy Weiner, PhD, RN-BC, FACMI, FAAN, Senior Associate Dean for Informatics at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.