For the past 20 years, the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange Foundation's annual report has presented a roadmap for using health IT, particularly data exchange, to facilitate better care delivery.
Based on nine months of investigation and conversations with more than 200 subject experts, this year's report details 10 industry-level recommendations to facilitate the electronic exchange of patient information to improve quality of care. The recommendations fall under four main categories: patient engagement, innovative encounter models, data harmonization and exchange and payment models.
Patient engagement recommendations:
- Standardize the patient identification process across the healthcare system.
- Expand health IT education and literacy programs for patients to encourage increased use of health IT.
- Identify and promote effective and actionable electronic approaches to patient information capture, maintenance and dissemination that use mobile devices and other "smart" technology.
Innovative encounter models recommendations:
- Identify use cases, conventions and operating standards for promoting consumer health and exchange of telehealth information in an increasingly mobile environment.
- Facilitate adoption and implementation of best-in-class approaches that promote growth and diffusion of innovative encounters across the marketplace and that demonstrate value for industry stakeholders.
- Identify existing or proposed legislation or regulations that create barriers to the implementation of these types of innovative encounters.
Data harmonization and exchange recommendations:
- Identify and promote consistent and efficient methods for electronic reporting of quality and health status measures across all stakeholders, including public health, with an initial focus on recipients of quality measure information.
- Identify and promote methods and standards for health information exchange that enhances care coordination.
- Identify methods and standards for harmonizing clinical and administrative data reporting that reduce data collection burden, support clinical quality improvement, contribute to population health management and can accommodate new payment models.
Payment models recommendation:
- Develop a framework for assessing core attributes of alternative payment models, such as connectivity or quality reporting, and the technology solutions that can mitigate barriers to implementation.
More Articles on Health Information Exchange:
2 New York HIEs Announce Merger
Study: Physician HIE Adoption Fueled More by Shared Patients Than Geographical Proximity
Half of California Covered by HIEs