of standards for CPR data and security, review of legal constraints and remedies, distribution of costs for CPR systems, and education of health care professionals.

The committee recognizes that considerable work must be accomplished and practical difficulties resolved before CPRs become the standard mode of documenting and communicating patient information and before they are perceived and used as a vital resource for improving patient care. The challenge of coordinating CPR development efforts in the pluralistic health care environment is great. Resources are limited and must be used wisely. Further, achieving maximum benefit from CPR systems will require that they be linked to an information infrastructure (i.e., network) that allows patient data, medical knowledge, and other information to be transmitted and accessed when and where needed, subject to appropriate security and confidentiality measures.

The committee is convinced that with proper coordination and appropriate resources the goal of widespread CPR utilization within a decade can be achieved. The desire to improve the quality of and access to patient data is shared by patients, practitioners, administrators, third-party payers, researchers, and policymakers across the nation. CPRs and CPR systems can respond effectively to the health care system's need for a ''central nervous system" to manage the complexities of modern medicine. The CPR, in short, is an essential technology for health care.