Azar Frustrated That Some Stakeholders Are Fiercely Pushing Back Against Interoperability Rules
The two interoperability proposals, released by the ONC and the CMS early last year, are designed to make it easier for providers, insurers and patients to exchange health data, HHS Secretary Alex Azar says. But some groups have expressed privacy concerns about the changes. Meanwhile, experts say a national patient identifier may help some, but it won't act as a cure-all for all coordination woes.
Modern Healthcare:
Azar: 'Scare Tactics' Won't Stall Interoperability Rules
HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Monday voiced frustration over stakeholders who are "fiercely" pushing back against the department's proposed interoperability rules. "Health records today are stored in a segmented, balkanized system," Azar said during keynote remarks at the 2020 annual meeting of the department's Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in Washington, D.C. "Unfortunately, some are defending the balkanized, outdated status quo and fighting our proposals fiercely." (Cohen, 1/27)
Modern Healthcare:
National Identifier Not A 'Panacea' For Patient-Matching, Experts Say
While a national patient identifier could help ease patient-matching woes among providers, it's not the ultimate solution, experts shared during the 2020 annual meeting of HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. "We know unique identifiers would be helpful, but not a panacea," said Ben Moscovitch, project director for health IT at the Pew Charitable Trusts, during a panel discussion on unique patient identifiers Monday. "It would be used in addition to the other demographic data already in use today for matching." (Cohen, 1/27)
In other health and technology news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Health Systems Look To AI To Prevent Sepsis Deaths
Sepsis is killing one in five people globally each year, according to an analysis published in the Lancet this month, more than twice the previous estimate. Some top health-care organizations are tapping machine learning to spot the illness before it turns deadly. Also called blood poisoning, sepsis is an out-of-control immune response to an infection that can lead to multiple organ failure and death. Anyone can develop sepsis, though it is more common among the very old or very young and people with compromised immune systems. (McCormick, 1/28)
