“Government health officials tied the importance of interoperability to health equity Tuesday during the HIMSS22 session ‘View From the Top: HIMSS Foundation Working Towards Health Equity.'”
“Data exchange is needed to understand gaps in the system, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. CMS will soon publish a rule on enhanced data exchange, she said, giving no specific date.”
“Tom Leary, senior vice president, Government Relations at HIMSS, and executive director of the HIMSS Foundation moderated the session through a live video with Brooks-LaSure and a prerecorded message from Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.”
“Care needs to be integrated through interoperability, Becerra said. ‘Every patient has a right to their information. We’re finally implementing health technology from the 21st Century Cures Act,’ he said, referring to the 2016 law on interoperability and information blocking.”
“This year presents opportunities in addressing Cures Act penalty enforcement on information blocking rules, he said. The provider penalty is up to the secretary of HHS, Becerra said.”
“Most of the complaints on information blocking have been from patients, such as one who said she was waiting for the result of a biopsy, but could only get the results by phone from the physician, and the physician was out-of-town.”
“Becerra hinted at more news to share that would address such complaints later this year…” Read the full article here.
Source: Achieving health equity requires a data connected healthcare system, says CMS administrator – By Susan Morse, March 15, 2022. Healthcare Finance News.
