AHIMA, AMIA, EHRA call for consensus on electronic health information

Three major healthcare informatics organizations this week published a new study designed to help guide the conversation around how electronic health information should be managed and put to use by healthcare providers and technology developers.

WHY IT MATTERS
The American Health Information Management Association, the American Medical Informatics Association and the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association on Monday put out a report, Defining EHI and the Designated Record Set in an Electronic World (PDF), which focuses on  issues around operationalization of the definitions of electronic health information and designated record set.

Such an effort is key to success for the 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule, whose requirements around information blocking and health IT certification rely on the definition of EHI – itself grounded in the definition of the designated record set as defined by HIPAA.

“How these definitions will be operationalized by clinicians and developers are critical to successful compliance with the Cures Act Final Rule,” said the groups in unveiling the new report, which sees several challenges for healthcare stakeholders must grapple with.

“Our analysis demonstrates the complexity associated with defining EHI for multipurpose use, such as in ONC’s certification program and compliance with information blocking,” said AHIMA, AMIA and EHRA in the new report.

“Whether a data class is considered EHI may depend on certain status conditions or characteristics. Other data classes might merit special consideration, such as behavioral health information. Throughout this process, Task Force members have agreed that what data classes are considered EHI will continue to evolve over time. However, we firmly believe that standardizing clinician and developer expectations around the definition of EHI will be critically important to successful operationalization of the Cures Act Final Rule.”

Read the full report in more detail here.

WHY IT MATTERS
In 2020, the three groups first launched a task force to put together recommendations for a consensus-based approach to operationalizing the definition of EHI.

Setting clear expectations around what EHI is and isn’t, they said, will help providers, certified IT developers, HIEs and networks better complying with the Cures Act Final Rule, which has some key compliance dates looming:

  • Healthcare organizations will be expected to adhere to the full scope of EHI for purposes of compliance with Cures Act info blocking provisions starting October 6, 2022.
  • Certification to the EHI export criterion – the process of electronic health records exporting EHI they’re storing – is expected by December 31, 2023.

The task force is seeking feedback on these findings in the new report ahead of those dates. Its work will continue in the months ahead, including “further exploration of whether common characteristics across covered entities could yield a common interpretation of the designated record set that can serve as a template to improve consistency.”

ON THE RECORD
“This preliminary report is a call to action for healthcare leaders to come together and advance a consensus-based approach to operationalizing the definition of EHI,” said Lauren Riplinger, AHIMA’s vice president of policy and government affairs, in a statement.

“It was clear from the outset that the fluid nature of the scope of EHI presents us a unique informatics challenge,” said Dr. Joseph Kannry, chair of AMIA’s Public Policy Committee. “We look forward to working further with our cross-stakeholder partners to try to ensure that we’re ready to meet these challenges head-on so our patients will ultimately benefit.”

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: [email protected]

Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Burns: First aid thumbnail

Burns: First aid

Burns are tissue damage from hot liquids, the sun, flames, chemicals, electricity, steam and other causes. Kitchen-related injuries from hot drinks, soups and microwaved foods are common among children. Major burns need emergency medical help. Minor burns can usually be treated with first aid. When to seek emergency care Call 911 or seek immediate care…
Read More
Children and COVID: New Cases Topped 200,000 thumbnail

Children and COVID: New Cases Topped 200,000

Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Weekly COVID-19 cases in children dropped again, but the count remained above 200,000 for the fifth consecutive week, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association. Over that 5-week span since the end of August, in fact,…
Read More
Texas food firm warned about import violations thumbnail

Texas food firm warned about import violations

As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or months after they are sent. Business owners have 15 days to respond to FDA warning letters. Warning letters often are not issued until a company…
Read More
מה קרה לשיטות המועדפות לגמילה מעישון באוסטרליה על פני 20 שנים? thumbnail

מה קרה לשיטות המועדפות לגמילה מעישון באוסטרליה על פני 20 שנים?

עידוד וסיוע בגמילה מעישון הינו יעד מרכזי בבריאות הציבור. יוזמות ממשלתיות ומסחריות מכוונות מעשנים לגמילה עם סיוע. במחקר זה החוקרים עקבו במהלך 20 שנים אחר מגמות ארוכות הטווח של נסיונות הגמילה של מעשנים באוסטרליה. מידע על אודות 11,917 מעשנים נאסף מתוך סקר אוכלוסין שנתי אקראי וייצוגי שבוצע פנים אל פנים. בסקר נבדקו מאפיינים דמוגרפיים, מידע…
Read More
Index Of News
Consider making some contribution to keep us going. We are donation based team who works to bring the best content to the readers. Every donation matters.
Donate Now

Subscription Form

Liking our Index Of News so far? Would you like to subscribe to receive news updates daily?

Total
0
Share