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Seeking Interoperability: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

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As we have discussed in an earlier blog post, the federal administrative agencies have been placing greater emphasis on being more transparent and promoting “interoperability”.

As such, on April 24, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposed changes to its Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System to promote better access to patient electronic health information and increase pricing transparency. For example, while hospitals are already required to make pricing information publicly available, the proposed rules impose more stringent guidelines, including a requirement that hospitals post pricing information on the internet. Seema Verma, the CMS Administrator, stated “[t]oday’s proposed rule demonstrates our commitment to patient access to high quality care while removing outdated and redundant regulations on providers. We envision a system that rewards value over volume and where patients reap the benefits through more choices and better outcomes.”

Critical to the proposed changes is a complete overhaul of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentive Programs, which is commonly known as the “Meaningful Use” program, by executing on the following core principles:

  1. Having a program that is more flexible and less burdensome;
  2. Placing greater emphasis and encouraging the exchange of health information between providers and patients; and
  3. Incentivizing providers to streamline the process for patients to be able to access their medical records electronically.

A rebranding would not be complete without, of course, a name change; in fact, CMS has proposed changing the “Meaningful Use” program to “Promoting Interoperability”. Interoperability, which means “the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information,” has been missing from the healthcare industry as technology has been advancing at an unprecedented rate. In a system where healthcare is central to our lives, it appears the final goal is to have a system where patients could have access to a virtual portal where all of their health information from various providers would be available, thus promoting patient-centered care where providers have greater insight into their patient’s medical history—invariably resulting in more thoughtful care. It is refreshing to see government, which is commonly known to always be a step behind private industry, taking the initiative to modernize its infrastructure. At this point in history a patient should be able to obtain his health information on a whim via his mobile device or even see a new physician while not having to deal with the administrative nightmares associated therewith.

While it is unclear if the final goal of “interoperability” will be reached, CMS’ proposed changes are definitely an encouraging step forward.

For more information, please see the CMS fact sheet.

 

 


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