HHS to push health information technology in 2013

The federal Health department is making the adoption of information technology (IT) a major priority for U.S. healthcare in 2013.

Obama administration officials announced Wednesday that initiatives like electronic health records and interoperability among medical providers will be a major focus in the coming year.

Marilyn Tavenner, Medicare and Medicaid's acting administrator, praised President Obama's healthcare law for encouraging the moves and helping to lower costs. 

“We are already seeing benefits, such as a reduction in hospital readmissions due to these reforms," Tavenner said in a statement.

"Health IT and the secure exchange of information across providers are crucial to reforming the system, and must be a routine part of care delivery."

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department is aiming for half of all physician offices to use electronic health records by the end of this year.

In a statement, HHS said the adoption of electronic health records has tripled to 44 percent in the last three years.

Officials also promised to implement rules streamlining data and coding standards, with the goal of easy exchange of patient health information among doctors, hospitals and other providers.

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