Roswell said the creation of a trust was specifically designed to limit the role the federal government plays in the establishment of the information exchange. He said about $12 million has been spent to help set up the system in Oklahoma, much of it to rural health providers.
"The OHIET trust is specifically structured and governed in a way that allows the local, Oklahoma-owned and operated practices to share information," he said. "That's the way we want it."
But Amanda Teegarden, the director of OK-SAFE, a Tulsa-based grass-roots group dedicated to "defending Oklahoma's sovereignty," voiced concern over the expense of the system and the potential for the security of those health records to be breached.
"It got created on the backs of the people, through tax dollars," Teegarden said.
All three Democrats on the committee voted against the bill, along with Sen. A.J. Griffin, R-Guthrie.
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Online:
Senate Bill 219: http://bit.ly/Y5ucoH
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Sean Murphy can be reached at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy
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