The Institute of Medicine (IOM) this week released a new report
recommending a brand new agency be created to regulate health
information technology. The report explicitly advises against the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) taking on this oversight responsibility at
this time. “Our feeling was that if the FDA got too involved, that
could inhibit innovation,” said one member of the IOM committee that
produced the report. Health IT is rapidly developing in the private
sector and the federal government is also promoting its usage through a
$27 billion portion of President Barack Obama’s 2009 economic
stimulus bill, but it is still unclear where regulatory oversight
responsibility for health information resides.
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