CMS Announces Promoting Interoperability to Improve Data Sharing
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Promoting Interoperability program, formerly called Meaningful Use.
Not just a fresh new moniker, Promoting Interoperability includes policy changes that aim to move hospitals beyond EHR implementation and into a health care ecosystem that inspires innovative IT solutions, values providers’ time, fosters strong doctor-patient relationships, and increases data access and cost transparency.
These changes are consistent with the MyHealthEData initiative’s push to give patients control of their own health care information.
Fewer CQMs, timely price lists, and API support
Through Promoting Interoperability, CMS plans to reduce the number of Clinical Quality Measures providers must report for reimbursement. It will also include new guidelines for providing health service pricing lists to patients. Another significant change is the requirement for hospital IT departments to facilitate Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
Currently, many IT systems are managed entirely by one medical software vendor. Since patients’ care teams are often made up of providers across systems using different EHRs, this makes data sharing extremely inefficient.
And then there’s the matter of patient access. With the proliferation of personal medical technologies such as health and fitness apps and wearable medical monitors, patients want to manage their health using their own tools instead of vendor-specific apps. They also want to be able to see a complete picture of their health history, rather than having to piece together information from multiple platforms. Both of these capabilities require APIs.
Open APIs benefit providers and patients
By 2019, Promoting Interoperability will require hospitals to implement API-supporting 2015 Edition Certified Health IT in order to open doors for improved data exchange between providers and patients. While updating software always comes with a few growing pains, we see this as an immensely positive step for all aspects of health care.
API support has the potential to improve the effectiveness of health technology by dismantling data siloes and encouraging the development of new tools designed for providers and patients, not billings departments. With better tools for interaction, care teams improve their effectiveness, and everyone wins.
Removing roadblocks to better care
Qvera believes strongly in breaking down barriers to interoperability. That’s why we offer a free interface engine that supports HL7® FHIR® and all the IHE profiles and web services that enable efficient data exchange.
QIE speaks every language that health data speaks, allowing us to support every stakeholder in every stage of the information exchange process. We can help developers as they create new solutions, patients as they access and share data from their mobile devices, and providers as they implement new technologies, interact with medical data and use these tools to develop care plans with their patients.
Are you ready to build some interfaces? We have the tools and top-rated support hospitals need to get started.
