EHRs

Stakeholders have until June 27 to weigh in with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Why should you? Experts say the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act is an aggressive and transformational piece of rulemaking. 

Research firm’s latest report also reveals that electronic health records software vendors have made substantial clinical workflow enhancements since 2014 but lacking interoperability continues having an impact on users.

The American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association call on ONC to rethink how it measures interoperability. Rather than simply gauging data exchange, they contend, ONC should focus on better care coordination.

The new agreement will support the development of an online app information site aimed at streamlining a developer’s ability to publish software and helping providers discover and compare the tech.

Executives said that implementing the electronic health record system will enable it to add dialysis, rehabilitation, outpatient and substance abuse services that help the hospital grow.

Leading up to the initial phase, slated to begin in the Pacific Northwest, the Defense Department is focusing on configuration more than customization, and program executive Stacy Cummings said that change management will be paramount.

There needs to be a better business case for sharing data because consumers expect it and HIPAA allows it, said National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD. And Americans are growing increasingly impatient. 

Now that almost all U.S. hospital are using electronic health records, the industry is ready for the next phase of information sharing, improved outcomes and collecting the digital dividend.

Half of hospitals routinely use patient information received electronically from other providers, which National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD said is an indication of how far the healthcare industry has come for both patients and clinicians.

Simplified regulations around MACRA meaningful use could address the loss of efficiency and usefulness of electronic health records software to enable more flexibility for the doctors using them, said Shawn Griffin, MD, of Memorial Hermann Physician Network.