The major companies managing electronic health records, the country’s largest healthcare systems and more than a dozen healthcare associations have agreed to three priorities to improve the transition from paper to electronic records, the Obama administration announced Monday.
While updating the U.S. healthcare system to electronic from one still dominated by paper has been fraught with challenges, the Department of Health and Human Services said it has made progress at getting major stakeholders to commit to similar sets of priorities.
“As we have seen, these improvements will allow us to move forward on creating a better, smarter, healthier health care system,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said at Health Information Management Systems Society Conference. “And that’s why supporting these efforts is a top priority at HHS. We are committed to leading where we can and should.”
As part of the agreement, the major companies providing electronic health records will use a standardized interface known as Fast Health Care Interoperability Resources so that consumers will have a single way to access their test results, track care progress or communite with doctors using smartphones and tablet applications.
Providers have agreed not to block the transmission of individuals’ health information to patients or other providers, actions that in the past have hindered the coordination of care. And the industry is generally agreeing to implement federally recognized standards for using electronic health records set up by HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and adopt standard practices for guarding patient privacy.
Participants include health IT developers Cerner, Epic and Meditech and healthcare systems HCA, Community Health Systems and Ascension Health. Consumer, provider and technology societies including the National Partnership for Women and Families, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Association also have signed on.
The goal is to eventually modernize health records so that doctors, hospitals and patients can access and share health information without many of the hassles that currently plague the healthcare system and lead to patients getting care that might be uncoordinated, duplicative or just unnecessary.
“The future of the nation’s health delivery system is one where electronic health information is unlocked and shared securely, yet seamlessly, to put patients at the center of their own care,” said Karen DeSalvo, national coordinator for health information technology. “The broad agreement by leaders in health and health IT across the nation brings us much closer to our vision for a truly learning, connected health system.”
