A plan to shift most hospitals, doctors and their patients to the national standards was proposed by President Barack Obama-led US government on Friday for better handling the electronic clinical data by 2017-end.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report draft aiming at the establishment of an inter-operable health information technology system that can be easily accessible by the patients as well as their healthcare providers.
The HHS report draft was released as part of an effort to drive the American healthcare system worth USD 2.9 trillion away from the costly and traditional fee-for-service system.
According to the policy experts, the national health IT standards would bring more transparency in the medical records including the prices, provider performance and other related data. Moreover, it will also assist the hospitals and other medical practices in pursuing models for care-delivery emphasizing upon savings and care quality over quantity.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell had earlier this week announced the department’s aim to move the traditional 50 percent of fee-for-service payments under Medicare program to the advanced quality-care focused providers by the 2018 end.
In order to bring a parallel transformation for the private healthcare sector, an industry task force has also been set up.
The consumer advocates supported the draft report on the care-delivery goals by the Obama administration.
Debra Ness, National Partnership for Women & Families president, in a statement said, “We are especially pleased that the new roadmap focuses on interoperability not just among providers, but also patients and their family caregivers, recognizing them as equal partners in the continuum of care.”
The document includes certification, core technical standards and functions, security, privacy and governance. The last date for receiving public comment on the draft is April 3.
A separate advisory was released by HHS that listed available standards and implementation specifications. The public comment on the standards advisory will close on May 1.
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