WASHINGTON--The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee unanimously approved legislation last week that would speed up the adoption of information technology in health care.

The Wired for Health Care Quality Act combines a bill that had been backed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., along with a bill that had been introduced by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

The compromise bipartisan bill would authorize a National Coordinator of Health IT--a position currently held by David Brailer--to oversee the creation of an IT infrastructure for the nation's health care providers and establish a quality measurement system that would award higher payments to providers who improve the quality of care patients receive.

The legislation would also approve grants of $125 million in FY 2006 and $155 million in FY 2007 to health care providers to increase the use of health IT. Although implementing health IT is costly, some experts estimate it could save about $140 billion each year.