“It’s more about knowledge that can come from data as opposed to thinking about the adoption of the platforms themselves.”
National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo, MD, addressing a joint meeting of federal policy and standards advisory committees on Jan. 20, accentuated top-level vision for achieving nationwide health IT interoperability.
The remarks served as a level-setting reminder of how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Obama administration intend to push further toward a “better, smarter, healthier” system of caring for Americans. They came only a day after DeSalvo and Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, had taken to the blogosphere to explain that the EHR meaningful use program won’t be dissolving any time soon, but instead shifting to a more outcomes-based approach to the use of health IT.
DeSalvo, speaking in Washington yesterday during a public meeting of the Health IT Policy and Standards committees, reiterated that the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and HHS are focused on improving provider payment, care delivery and the distribution of information to help achieve better care at lower cost.
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The informational component of that strategy still hinges on bringing electronic health information to the point of care so that it can be meaningfully used, creating transparency on cost and quality, and supporting consumer and clinical decision-making, she explained.
“We’re moving into this new chapter, where it’s more about knowledge that can come from data as opposed to thinking about the adoption of the platforms themselves, and how we will make sure that information is there for consumers when they need it,” DeSalvo stated.
She noted that consumers should be able to easily and securely access their electronic health information and direct it to any desired location. “This implies that there’s going to be an opportunity for consumers to have a longitudinal health record in addition to a discrete health record from one of their care episodes,” she said.
DeSalvo added that ONC is working with the Office for Civil Rights to clarify “what the expectations are around the sharing of electronic health information for consumers so that there is better guidance for providers.” At the same time, ONC will continue to monitor instances of information blocking so that it doesn’t get in the way of consumer access to their health records. “We’re working with many people across the administration and industry to better define and sort that out,” she continued.
The ONC chief also highlighted a commitment to implement “federally recognized, national interoperability standards, policies, guidance and practices for electronic health information, and adopt best practices related to privacy and security.” She cited development of the Interoperability Standards Advisory — a compilation of “best available” interoperability standards and implementation specifications — as an example of a “living document” that ONC will strive to make more usable.
DeSalvo summarized with thoughts on expected expressions of the government’s commitments.
She concluded, “If we all follow these commitments as a true north, we will be able to manifest this open, connected health IT world — but more importantly, open connected health system — that is going to be the kind of feature that we certainly hope to see.”
Date: January 21, 2016