There can be no health reform without health IT, HIMSS09 panelist Jim Geringer, the former Republican governor of Wyoming, said during a Monday legislative policy session. 

“Neither is totally independent of each other,” Geringer said. “If we automate a bad system, all we will have is a really fast bad system.”

Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD, (R-Ga.), another panelist, said it may be difficult for Congress to pass comprehensive reform quickly and get it right. He cautioned lawmakers against biting off more than they can chew.

The government should focus on health IT first, Gingrey said. The $22 billion earmarked for health IT in the stimulus package is “a darned good start.”

Gingrey, a practicing obstetrician for 26 years, is opposed to a single-payer healthcare system, saying it might threaten the physician-patient relationship.

“Americans don't want the government in the exam room with them,” Gingrey said. “More and more government involvement would make ‘a Bridge Too Far.’”

When the audience was invited to ask questions, an Indiana hospital CIO expressed frustration with the overwhelming number of rules hospitals must comply with on a 3 percent profit margin. “How are we going to do all this?” he asked the panelists. “It’s harder and harder to stay in business.”

Geringer said policy activism is essential. “Talk to your lawmakers,” he said.  “If you want to know how the rules are going to be written, write them.”