ST.LOUIS- At least 50,000 Americans die needlessly each year due to incorrect or inaccessible medical information, according to information revealed today during a rare congressional field hearing in St. Louis.  The official event, hosted by Washington University Medical Center, heard expert testimony on how a secure network of electronic healthcare information could save lives and precious healthcare dollars. 

Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri and Congressman Jon Porter (R) Nevada, who serve on the U.S. House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, convened the hearing.

“Patients shouldn’t die because their doctors can’t access their healthcare information,” said Clay. “The federal government needs to take the lead in helping healthcare providers create a new way of managing patient records to produce better outcomes and save precious healthcare dollars".  This legislation will affect every American.  And as we commemorate the tragic anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina and the 9-11 terrorist attacks, it’s clear that this kind of secure, electronic health records system should be an urgent national priority.

Expert witnesses from both government and the private sector offered testimony about the critical issues facing healthcare providers as they attempt to create a secure electronic record system.  They also discussed pending legislation authored and cosponsored by Congressman Clay and Congressman Porter to jump-start this national effort.  It is estimated that a secure national electronic health information network could save at least 50,000 lives each year and also save an estimated $80 billion in annual healthcare costs.  Much of those savings could be applied to covering uninsured Americans and closing the healthcare disparities gap that still afflicts minorities and lower-income patients with higher rates of chronic diseases and early death.