[telemedicine] Brailer Compares U.S. Health IT Plan with U.K. Program

[Medical Informatics News]

Last week, the U.K.’s IT newsletter*E-Health Insider carried an interview with
Dr. David Brailer, the U.S. national co-ordinator for health information technology. Brailer explains the U.S.
market-based approach and how it fundamentally differs from England’s National Program for information technology. From
the interview:


The US plan differs from the NPfIT because the NHS actually is managing and
paying for the implementation. “We’re not running an IT project,” Brailer said. “There will not be a government
network,” according to Brailer. The administration of US President George W. Bush is dead-set about the need for
market-based healthcare. Government does need to play a role, Brailer said, but the exact parameters have yet to be
determined.

Brailer also said that the NHS essentially has split the function he plays into three separate jobs, that of NPfIT
Director General Richard Granger; the recently appointed head of NPfIT service implementation, Alan Burns, whose role
is to rally physicians and the public; and John Bacon, group director of health and social delivery. While the NHS plan
to automate healthcare information for 52 million people across England is well underway, the Americans still are
shaping policy.

http://telemedicine.weblogsinc.com/e...4000250025161/