DeGette Hosts Roundtable Discussion with Experts in Digital Health Care

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (MI-06) hosted a roundtable discussion with leading experts in the field of digital health care as part of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures initiative.  
 
“The 21st Century Cures initiative is a rare effort in Congress where there are no preconceptions about what we are going to do before we do it.” said Rep. DeGette. “I am excited that this initiative will take a big picture look at our health care system in this country: the research, approval process, and how we get it to clinical application to make it more affective for patients and keep our preeminence in the world as the leader in biomedical research. 
 
“There are a lot of topics that can fall under digital health care: tele-medicine, the potential for harnessing the vast amount of information collected via electronic health records for research, and the development of mobile medical applications. The opportunity to hear directly from the leading experts at today’s discussion will have an important impact on our approach to medical innovation in the United States going forward.”

Click here to watch the roundtable discussion.

Rep. DeGette recently joined Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton to announce the launch of 21st Century Cures, a new initiative that aims to accelerate the pace of cures and medical breakthroughs in the United States.
 
The 21st Century Cures Initiative is broadly collaborating with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other agencies, as well as the nation’s patients and scientific pioneers in academia and industry.  Since the initiative was launched, the Committee on Energy and Commerce has conducted two hearings and two roundtable with leading experts. The following white papers have also been released as part of the initiative’s extensive efforts:
 
21st Century Cures: A Call to Action (May 1, 2014), 
21st Century Cures: An Update on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 2012 Report on Propelling Innovation (May 12, 2014),
21st Century Cures: Patients (May 16, 2014),
21st Century Cures: Digital Health Care (June 17, 2014). 
 
More information about the 21st Century Cures Initiative can be found here.