Medical Economics March 25, 2020
Saying March has been a busy month for healthcare is an understatement. For the first time in 58 years, the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition — set to be held March 9-13 — was cancelled. Then, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued final rules on interoperability and information blocking with the 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule. And on March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
The new interoperability rules could not have come at a better time as patients, providers and public health officials navigate what this pandemic means for them. Patients want to know if they are at-risk. They...