Kennedy on Quest to Reform U.S. Health Care System

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) has proposed legislation, the Quality, Efficiency, Standards, and Technology for Healthcare Transformation (QUEST) Act, in an effort to reform the present health care system’s “massive inefficiencies and frequent mistakes,” according to a press release from Kennedy.

“Politicians like to say that we have the best health care system in the world, but we don’t,” said Kennedy at the 2004 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society in February in Florida.

“What we have is the best medical talent in the world, the best technology in the world, and the best facilities in the world. But the system in which they exist is a mess,” Kennedy said in his statement.

He referred to several statistics to back up his claim about the state of the U.S. health care system:

• Twenty percent of medical and lab tests ordered are because previous results were unavailable.

• Frequent errors cause about 98,000 preventable deaths a year.

• Evidence-based medicine is used only 55 percent of the time in making treatment decisions.

• Less than 5 percent of physicians use electronic health records.

• Waste, error, and duplication account for 30 cents of each health care dollar, which amounts to a $515 billion tax on employers and individuals.

Kennedy pointed out that information technology, if properly implemented, could revolutionize the U.S. health care system. In particular, the QUEST Act would reduce duplication, eliminate errors from clinical-support software, foster best-practice guidelines for professionals, give public health agencies a rapid way to detect and respond to bioterrorism threats, provide data to measure and repair professional performance, and reduce administrative costs such as transcription and billing, according to Kennedy.

Because of the substantial number of reforms he proposed, Kennedy recommended that his plan be phased in over 10 years.

“Currently, we practice 21st-century medicine on a 20th-century platform,” said Kennedy. “The information revolution has transformed financial services, manufacturing, and retail. Even hide-bound politicians are adapting campaigns and elections to the new tools. We need [information technology] to transform medicine also.” ▪