The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) issued the following statement regarding their support of the Office of the National Coordinator’s campaign to promote consumer awareness of health information technology:
“Health information technology has the power to transform the way healthcare is delivered and significantly increase safety, efficiency and the quality of care for all Americans. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association strongly supports initiatives to advance health information technology and supports efforts by the Office of the National Coordinator ‘to engage and empower individuals to be partners in their health through information technology.’
“We recently released a new proposal, “Building Tomorrow’s Healthcare System: The Pathway to High Quality, Affordable Care” that offers a comprehensive, interconnected action plan to fundamentally transform the healthcare system. BCBSA and the nation’s 39 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies have been at the forefront of efforts to encourage broad adoption of health IT by developing national standards for personal health records (PHRs), encouraging providers to use electronic prescribing and electronic medical records, and promoting the adoption of interoperable health IT.
“Our shared vision for the future of healthcare in America includes the use of health information technology to drive safer and better care for all Americans. We look forward to working with the administration and others to help promote consumer awareness and engagement in health IT.”
via BCBSA Supports Consumer Use Of Health Information Technology.