U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate health committee, urged HHS to move slowly with new interoperability rules, in the committee's hearing May 8 on implementing the EHR provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act.
"The best way to get to where you want to go is not by going too far, too fast," Mr. Alexander said in prepared remarks. "I want to make sure we learn lessons from implementing Meaningful Use Stage 3, which was, in the words of one major hospital, 'terrifying.'"
Mr. Alexander praised the extended comment period for the two rules, which will upend how the healthcare industry approaches interoperability and patient data.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Senate health committee, did not comment on implementation speed but praised the rules in her prepared statement: "We can't afford to have bad actors who prioritize their bottom line over patients' best interests, who block information that is essential to patient care, and who prevent people from speaking out when they see something that could jeopardize someone's health.
The May 8 hearing was the health committee's second on implementing the EHR provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act.
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