June 8, 2007

Health Innovators Show New Treatments, Technologies on Capitol Hill

The Healthcare Leadership Council held its annual Health Care Innovations for the New Millennium event on Capitol Hill this week.

• This event features the cutting-edge health care products of many of HLC's member companies.
   
• Federal lawmakers can see in person what health care leaders are doing to improve patient safety, advance health information technology solutions and help patients better manage diseases.
   
• It's one thing to read or hear about a medical breakthrough. It's quite another to see it.  This yearly event showcases those success stories, bringing them to Capitol Hill.

Medical innovation leads to cutting-edge cures.  Some of these were on display for Congress.

• An amazing medical miracle treats brain injuries, using deep brain stimulation to ease living with the symptoms of such brain damage.
   
• A collaborative effort helps people with Parkinson's disease, tremors and disabling conditions to manage them. An inhaled form of insulin provides a safe, effective alternative for diabetics.
   
• Members of Congress also saw how an outpatient procedure that doesn't require cutting the skin can help the 13 million women suffering from stress urinary incontinence.  This condition sends many Medicare beneficiaries to nursing homes every year.

Advancements in health information technology took a prominent place, as well.

• One display showed a secure, digital patient records system. Providers can see a patient's diagnoses and procedures, medication history, immunizations and allergies. This helps doctors avoid costly duplication of treatment and medical errors.
   
• Another device allows electronic prescribing of medicines on a hand-held device or web-based computer system.  Doctors can see a patient's medication history on the spot.
   
• An integrated electronic patient data system can identify patients at risk of chronic medical conditions.  Another connects hospitals with health care experts to find best practices and share solutions to common challenges.

Innovation in health care advances patient safety. Some of these solutions were on Capitol Hill this week.

• One new technology helps prevent hospital-acquired infections. Another innovation, a data-mining system, lets hospitals track and reduce infections – both in the hospital and in the community.
   
• A handheld bar-code scanning device ensures that the right patient gets the right drug, the right dose, in the right form at the right times.
   
• One life-saving innovation came up with infant feeding tubes that foil medical errors on premature babies.

Congress writes laws that affect America's health care system. So lawmakers should know how the laws they write can help or hurt innovation in health care.  Creative solutions are increasing patient safety, improving care and saving lives.  Market-based health policies best serve our country.  The innovations displayed on Capitol Hill this week hopefully will give lawmakers greater insight into how that fact is true.