As a keynote speaker at the CTIA Wireless conference in Florida, the former president said information technology could deliver vast savings for America’s overburdened healthcare system.
Quoting McKinsey & Company research, Mr Clinton said Americans spend $800 billion on healthcare each year, and could save US$100 billion (A$124 billion) by introducing electronic medical records (EMR).
Like the Australian experience, the EMR issue has been a difficult one in the US because of concerns about patient privacy and whether technology and legislative measures can adequately protect people’s personal information.
Mr Clinton’s wife Senator Hillary Clinton had sponsored a bi-partisan EMR Bill seeking the introduction of EMR, but had stalled in spite of three years lobbying, he said.
“That's the number-one thing that can be done right now to make the American health-care system more efficient and cut costs,” Mr Clinton said.
Better use of IT in the health system is a hot issue in the US right now.
Retail giant WalMart this week announced it had joined with the University of Arkansas and Blue Cross Blue Shield to create a new research centre aimed at improving the delivery of health care services through IT.
Meanwhile, 82-year-old former President George Bush snr – who addressed the CTIA alongside Mr Clinton – has confessed to being an addict, claiming he is addicted to his Blackberry.
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