Kevin Krejci's Profile

Clean burning micro turbine charges batteries and extends car's range to 500 miles

Collectively, Americans spent nearly 500,000 years stuck in traffic in 2007 — nearly 4.2 billion hours.

The cost of traffic congestion hit $87.2 billion in wasted fuel and lost productivity, or $750 per traveler. By contrast, the cost of congestion in 1982 was only $16.7 billion, adjusted for inflation, or $290 per person.

The Council refers to the use of Health Information Technology (HIT)
under the subsection titled: "Slowing Cost Growth."   Health IT is cited as a tool for evaluating
efficiency and providing "more high-value care and less care that is of
low value."  Health IT is also seen
as a means for "expanding performance measurement and provider
feedback."

Congress gave a big push to adopting electronic health records (EHRs) this year by including $45 billion in incentive payments to doctors and hospitals in the economic stimulus law. Lawmakers topped that off with $2 billion to advance health information exchanges. Factoring in projected savings in health care delivery, the net cost to the Treasury is supposed to be $19 billion.

The $45 billion appropriated by Congress is earmarked for health care providers who buy and "meaningfully use" certified electronic health records. However, meaningful use is a term with a range of interpretations. Precisely what uses fall under its definition is an ongoing debate.