“The urgency of the situation demands that steps be taken now to encourage health care institutions and clinicians to improve their quality. Pay for performance has demonstrated sufficient promise based on early experience that it should be pursued, albeit cautiously and in a manner that allows for learning and adjustment as needed. And we should remember that pay for performance is just one part of the solution; other interventions will be needed to achieve the level of quality that Medicare patients deserve.”

– Steven A. Schroeder, MD
Distinguished Professor of Health and Health Care,
University of California, San Francisco

“Personal Electronic Health records could allow beneficiaries to identify aberrant billing practices more easily, thus, opening new doors for law enforcers and anti-fraud agents at private insurers to collaborate with consumers.”

– Daniel R. Levinson
Inspector General for the Department of Health
and Human Services

“Efforts such as those by health insurance plans to provide consumers with portable PHRs are a step forward in the national health IT agenda. We welcome your continued work to achieve interoperable, consumer-centric health information.”

– Robert M. Kolodner, MD
Interim National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology at HHS