More widespread adoption of information technology can help the country reduce some of the waste that adds to the nation's escalating health-care costs, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told doctors and other staff at Greenville Hospital System Thursday.

The Tennessee Republican was in town to campaign for South Carolina politicians and stopped by GHS for a tour. While there, he took a few questions. One was about the role of information technology in health care.

Frist said the price of health care makes it unaffordable to many, and yet waste, abuse and medical errors add to those costs. The best way for government to help, he said, is to cultivate an "interoperability platform" that allows for easier exchange of information. That will help reduce those problems, and in turn reduce costs, he said.

For instance, he said, there are many points along the way from the writing of a prescription to filling it where a costly error can occur. Technology could reduce the number of steps, and thereby the chance for error.

Advertisement

When asked about the increasing number of Americans traveling to other countries for health-care services at a fraction of the U.S. cost, Frist, a doctor, said he supports free trade and doesn't see that as much of a problem -- at least not until insurers start sending their subscribers overseas for care.

However, he said that in an age of global competition, the United States needs to foster math and science education so that the country remains competitive. One way to do that, he said, is increase grants to students studying those and other high-tech areas.

Frist also was asked about the value of stem-cell research. He said it's an issue that is caught between advancing science and moral issues and as a result needs to be re-examined every few years. And though he said he favors embryonic stem cell research, he also said he is pro-life.

He said this week's controversial announcement by a Massachusetts company could be the answer to the dilemma that has pitted those who favor stem cell research for a host of diseases against those who oppose the practice as destroying human life. That company, Advanced Cell Technology, claims it has been able to remove just one cell from an embryo for research without destroying the embryo, although that claim has been criticized