Actor Dennis Quaid brought the importance of electronic prescriptions and bar-coding close to the heart with the story of the near-deaths of his newborn twins from a medical error in 2007.

Quaid, Sunday's opening keynote speaker at HIMSS09 and founder of the Quaid Foundation, said he hopes many lives will be saved as a result of his children's ordeal.

When Thomas and Zoe Quaid were 10 days old, they nearly bled to death when a nurse intern accidentally gave them an overdose of the blood thinner Heparin. The twins were being treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for staph infections.

Though they appear to be healthy now, the Quaids are concerned about the long-term effects of the error.

Quaid attributes the overdose, in part, to human error that occurs when systems fail and pressures faced by overworked healthcare providers on a daily basis. Ba-coding drugs from manufacture to the bedside could have prevented his ordeal, he said.

Airlines prevent errors because, without doing so, they would be out of business. "Why can't the healthcare industry do the same?" Quaid asked.

Medical errors account for more deaths per year than if a major commercial airline were to crash every day of the year, yet the public is relatively unaware of deaths caused by medical errors because they happen quietly, one case at a time, Quaid said.

In the past few months, Quaid has testified before Congress and appeared on Oprah Winfrey's television show to promote his cause.

In a large hall filled nearly to capacity, an emotional Quaid thanked the scores of attendees "from the bottom of my heart" for their dedication to advancing health IT.

"You are the leaders and I have faith that you will lead us to a better and brighter future," Quaid said.