Josh Rising, MD, director of medical devices of The Pew Charitable Trusts, drafted a letter to the Senate Finance Committee offering thoughts on how to improve the usability and interoperability of data held in EHRs.
As it stands, "it is virtually impossible for patients, physicians, manufacturers and payers…to assess the performance of different devices and determine the right product for each patient," Dr. Rising wrote. However, he said technological capabilities have the capability to provide such data, such as registries and the unique device identifier systems, but barriers to proper implementation still remain.
Data registries can collect vital information and track long-term medical device outcomes that may not be detected in clinical trials, Dr. Rising wrote. However, lack of interoperability between EHRs prohibits data registries from extracting and sharing clinical outcomes data. Dr. Rising asked the committee to "assess the status of interoperability efforts by the ONC and elsewhere and lend assistance as needed."
UDIs will be incorporated as soon as this fall in certain devices, allowing providers a much more precise database for adverse event information. Implementing UDI information in EHRs will also benefit physicians as they make patient care decisions based on information they can access on such devices, according to Dr. Rising, but he says more useful information can be extracted from UDIs. He suggested documenting UDI in claims can provide more data on device performance, allowing CMS and payers to evaluate outcomes for patients with devices.
"As Medicare and Medicaid pay billions annually for health services involving devices, they should know what products they are purchasing and have the information necessary to make better coverage and reimbursement decisions based on patient outcomes," wrote Dr. Rising.
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