For Immediate Release Contact: Nancy Bucceri

April 30, 2010 (610) 918-1505

PA HIMSS Testifies Before House Insurance Committee

AMBLER– The Pennsylvania chapters of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (PA HIMSS) continued efforts to support health care reform in the Commonwealth by providing testimony regarding the benefits of health information exchange and their support of House Bill 2106 to members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The Delaware Valley Chapter of HIMSS presented oral testimony on behalf of both chapters before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Insurance Committee on Thursday, April 22 at a hearing at the Ambler Theater. House Bill 2106 proposes the creation of a health information exchange authority to govern the proposed Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange, PHIX, which both the Delaware Valley and Western Pennsylvania HIMSS chapters support.

PA HIMSS strongly urged the Committee to consider amendments to the currently proposed legislation that will strengthen the Commonwealth’s ability to improve the quality and reduce the cost of care while at the same time protect the privacy rights of citizens. The complete written testimony is available at www.dvhimss.org.

The bill as written prohibits the use of data that flows through the exchange, even data with personal identities removed, to be used for quality initiatives, including initiatives regarding public health. While PA HIMSS recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of consumers, the ability to aggregate and analyze de-identified health data for purposes of improving the quality of care and reducing costs is a major benefit of electronic medical records and health information exchange.

About PA HIMSS: The Pennsylvania chapters of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society are comprised of nearly 2,000 healthcare professionals from medical centers, health systems, health information technology vendors and consulting firms representing some of the largest employers in Pennsylvania.

For more information on PA HIMSS please visit www.dvhimss.org or www.wphimss.org