Congress holds the key to achieving improved healthcare through better use of data
Health Management Technology September 26, 2017
How a simple change in federal law could finally make way for comprehensive medical records
It’s ironic that the very law enacted to improve digitization and sharing of health records is, in fact, the same obstacle to achieving true interoperability of electronic medical records.
Over the last decade, the federal government has provided more than $35 billion in incentives to improve data interoperability and access to electronic health records (EHRs). Investments made through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 have resulted in a rapid digitization of health data. This federal contribution doesn’t count the considerable time and resources that providers and hospital networks poured into the transition from paper to electronic records.
Progress...