Interoperability
Charles Jaffe, MD, CEO of standards organization HL7, came away from the joint meeting of the federal Health IT Policy and Health IT Standards committees earlier this week, thinking that the industry could move faster on interoperability. And HL7 has just the thing to change the game.
The overarching message delivered to joint HIT Policy and Standards Committees by the JASON task force on Oct. 15: The government should "act with urgency" to encourage and motivate the healthcare industry, using whatever mechanisms available, to fuel interoperability through meaningful use.
ONC's work to drive interoperability is under perhaps more intense scrutiny than ever. Yet, a sense emerged on Wednesday morning during a meeting of the joint HIT Policy and Standards Committees that, while much work remains, the notion that there is no interoperability in America is wrong.
A coalition of healthcare associations today called on HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell to revamp the meaningful use program. "Without changes to the MU program and a new emphasis for interoperable EHRs/EMRs systems and HIT infrastructure, we believe that the opportunity to leverage these technologies will not be realized," the organizations wrote.
The Federal Trade Commission has some news for health IT vendors whose zeal for competitive marketshare outweighs their willingness to share data: They're watching, and will step in where necessary.
Health IT infrastructure has made significant progress in recent years, with EHR adoption among hospitals and physicians growing. However, the development of health information exchanges and interoperability - needed to provide more effective care - still has a long way to go.
It may not come as any surprise: Electronic health record vendors don't play well with others. At least that's according to healthcare providers who say, in the lion's share of cases, their EHR is not interoperable with others.
HIMSS executives this week had three big messages for the Department of Health and Human Services and newcomer chief Sylvia Mathews Burwell: They want to see serious changes with meaningful use, interoperability and clinical quality measures.
Wes Wright, chief information officer at Seattle Children's Hospital, says a new analytics tool that unobtrusively monitors the performance of his HL7 transactions "gives me peace of mind."
ONC chief Karen DeSalvo, MD, promised an audience of AHIMA members that the government would act "fast into interoperability." She drew applause when she added, "We cannot wait for 10 years to get this done."