Top health IT official emphasizes balance of government, market forces

Farzad Mostashari, head of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the Department of Health and Human Services, touted progress in encouraging doctors to switch from paper to electronic records and the development of regional systems for exchanging information.

Noting that individual doctors rarely see the savings from electronic records because the effect is spread across the healthcare system, he said programs like the government's adoption incentives are essential. "We have to do the minimum government action, but no less," Mostashari said. HHS must ensure that strong privacy standards apply to every entity that handles electronic records, Mostashari said, adding that HHS will issue a regulation later this year on the "trusted intermediaries" who move data from one place to another. In addition to government-mandated standards, Mostashari said he expects the private market to respond to the demand for technology that protects the security of patients' records.