I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2234 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make health 
information technology grants, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2005 
Mr. MURPHY (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to make health information technology grants, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Health 
Information Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—
(1) According to the Institute for Safe Medica-
tion Practices, pharmacists make over 150 million 
calls to physicians for clarification of illegible pre-
scriptions each year and electronic prescribing can 
reduce follow-up calls between pharmacists and doc-
tors by over 50 percent. 
(2) A study by the Journal of the American 
Medical Association found that laboratory and radi-
ology results, letters, and medical histories were 
missing during 13.6 percent of 1,614 patient visits. 
In 44 percent of these cases, doctors felt that the 
missing information had the potential to adversely 
affect a patient’s well-being. 
(3) A study by the Rand Corporation found 
that patients only receive recommended care about 
55 percent of the time. 
(4) A study of emerging infectious diseases 
finds that preventable health care acquired infec-
tions cost $4.5 billion per year and contributed to 
more than 88,000 deaths — one death every 6 min-
utes. 
(5) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention reports that United States patients are pre-
scribed improper medications in about 1 out of every 
12 physician visits. An estimated 16.7 million physi-
cian visits for the elderly result in prescription er-
rors per year. 
(6) A March 2001 Institute of Medicine (IOM) 
study called ‘‘Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New 
Health System for the 21st Century’’ concludes that 
in order to improve quality, the Nation must have a 
national commitment to building an information in-
frastructure to support health care delivery, con-
sumer health, quality measurement and improve-
ment, public accountability, clinical and health serv-
ices research, and clinical education. 
(7) An October 2003 Government Account-
ability Office report found that the benefits of an 
electronic health care information system included 
improved quality of care, reduced costs associated 
with medication errors, more accurate and complete 
medical documentation, more accurate capture of 
codes and charges, and improved communication 
among providers enabling them to respond more 
quickly to patients’ needs. 
(8) In January 2004, the President stated that 
‘‘by computerizing health records, we can avoid dan-
gerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve 
care’’ and outlined a plan to ensure that most Amer-
icans have electronic health records within the next 
10 years. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall implement this Act for the purpose of devel-
oping interoperable regional health information networks 
and promoting the adoption of health information tech-
nology products. 
SEC. 3. HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRANTS. 
(a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 
not more than 20 grants to regional health informa-
tion organizations to enable each grantee to develop 
and implement over a 3-year period a regional 
health information technology plan that provides 
for— 
(A) a health information network that will 
serve a geographic area that— 
(i) is located in 1 or more States; and 
(ii) does not include any area to be 
served by the health information network 
of any other grantee under this section; 
(B) a plan to finance acquisition and im-
plementation of technology by health care pro-
viders as needed to allow participation by the 
providers in the network; and