The government is pursuing numerous strategies to spur information technology adoption in the healthcare industry, including examining how to tie the various healthcare IT standards development processes together, the government's top healthcare IT official told an HHS advisory body last week. National Health Information Technology Coordinator David Brailer, MD, told the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics that while there are numerous standards development initiatives under way to make sure healthcare information systems can communicate, there is not one "macro" process for these efforts. Brailer's office is examining ways to coordinate these efforts.
Brailer reiterated his concerns about an "adoption gap," which he says exists between small providers, which can't afford electronic health records and other IT systems, and large hospitals and group practices, which can afford the investment. Brailer also said the government wants healthcare organizations to harmonize business processes so the healthcare system is more efficient. The federal government also wants to standardize its own healthcare information systems to provide a rallying point for private industry.
Meanwhile, Brailer's office continues to sift through the responses to its request for information on ways to create an interoperable healthcare system that would allow doctors and patients to share medical information. ONCHIT plans to release a public document summarizing the responses, followed by an analysis. He said the government had a sense of urgency to release its analysis because of reports his office is seeing about increased uptake of EHRs, which he said are not interoperable.
To address the interoperability issues with such records, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, a group of private sector leaders, is considering a minimum set of requirements for EHRs. In addition, ONCHIT is working closely with the Commission on Systemic Interoperability, a group charged with addressing the development and implementation of healthcare IT standards. Brailer said the group in October would release a report about its findings.