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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Josh Shapiro |
  
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Shapiro calls on Pennsylvania to modernize its health-care system
HARRISBURG, May 12 – The House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution last month sponsored by Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, calling attention to health-care information technology.
Shapiro’s resolution (H.R. 665) designates today, May 12, as "Pennsylvania Health Care Information Technology Day."
According to a Boston University study, the Unites States spends more than $1.9 trillion on health care annually. Half of that money is spent on clinical and administrative labor that could be eliminated by using information technology more effectively in family practices and hospitals.
"Seventy percent of all health-care transactions are paper-based," Shapiro said. "In a time when my three-year-old son can send me a text message, it does not make sense that the vast majority of health-care records are not digitized. Making medical records digital will save money and lives."
This resolution also supports Shapiro’s efforts to recruit more physicians to practice in Pennsylvania, as new doctors leaving medical school are more likely to practice medicine at an institution that incorporates advanced information technology at their site.
"Only 17 percent of Pennsylvania’s hospitals report that their medical practitioners routinely use information technology," Shapiro said. "As we look for ways to reduce the cost of health care in Pennsylvania, I will work to develop policies that will encourage this number to rise."
Shapiro is deputy speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and represents the 153rd Legislative District in Montgomery County. More information is available at www.pahouse.com/shapiro.
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