Charlotte, N.C.-based Premier has drafted a letter to Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on the Senate Committee on Finance regarding strategies to enhance the availability and utility of healthcare data.
Among other recommendations related to the types of data that should be made more broadly available and reforms to reduce fragmentation of healthcare data, Premier largely emphasized application programming interface technology and applications.
Premier's letter alludes to a report from the JASON advisory group that suggests EHR vendors should be required to develop APIs to help support healthcare data architecture. The letter suggests it may be necessary for the ONC to lead such a reform through government action.
"Requiring open APIs as a foundational and integral standard for healthcare data would reverse the current legacy state of locked systems and enable bi-directional and real-time exchange of health data currently residing in EMR/EHR systems," reads the letter. "Enabling interoperability in healthcare this way would help providers reduce costs and improve patient care, quality and safety."
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