WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has released A Call for Action: Enabling Healthcare Reform Using Information Technology, a detailed report outlining specific priorities and recommendations for the Obama Administration and 111th Congress to harness IT's power to reform healthcare and stimulate the U.S. economy.

"President-elect Obama and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-designate Daschle have clearly indicated their interest in finding ways to cost-effectively evolve our healthcare system to include 21st century technology solutions that will help improve access, decrease costs and increase quality of healthcare for millions of Americans," said Charles Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS, Chair of HIMSS Board of Directors and Director of Information Systems and CIO, Good Samaritan Hospital. "Our goal in releasing this report today is to share the expertise and recommendations of the health IT community with policymakers to help ensure health IT policy proposals achieve maximum impact for consumers and the healthcare community."

Among the specific recommendations detailed in the HIMSS report include the following priority actions:
* Invest a minimum of $25 billion in health IT to help non-governmental hospitals and physician practices adopt electronic medical records (EMRs). Additional funding should be allocated to cover EMR adoption by federal and state-owned healthcare providers, and establish health IT Action Zones. HIMSS also calls for SCHIP to be expanded to make health IT available to Medicaid and SCHIP providers of healthcare to children.

* Apply recognized standards and certified health IT products among all federally funded health programs by requiring that federal funding to assist providers and payers within these programs adopt health IT only be used for the purchase or upgrade of new health IT products that apply HITSP interoperability specifications and are CCHIT-certified.

* Expand Stark Exemptions and Anti-Kickback Safe Harbors for EMRs to cover additional healthcare software and related devices that apply HITSP interoperability specifications, are CCHIT-certified, and allow for better coordination of care and information sharing among related providers and their patients. In carrying-out out this recommendation, the Secretary should implement necessary measures and requirements to protect against conflict of interest and improper relationships among providers.

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