Healthcare Facilities Still Lack Interoperability

We have moved into an era where more hospitals are employing electronic charting and are requiring computerized physician order entry. In fact, between 2010 and 2012, the number of hospitals utilizing electronic health records (EHRs) has tripled (Thomas, 2013). With all the hospitals are undertaking to meet requirements for Meaningful Use, is it enough? The HIMSS website reports that Congress is not impressed. It is urging the Office of the National Coordinator for Information Technology (ONC) to utilize its certification process thoughtfully in order to guarantee certified electronic health record technology delivers usefulness to qualified hospitals, eligible providers, and taxpayers. ONC should exercise its right to certify only those products that clearly meet current meaningful use program specifications. These products should not impede the interchange of health information (Congress Demands ONC Take Action on Electronic Health Records and Interoperability, 2014). This is where the problem lies with many institutions though. The purpose of a national health information technology system is ensure that data is mobile. The information should move on with the patient despite vendor, organizational, or geographical limits. This is the reason interoperability between EHR systems was a Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirement (Lewis, 2012). One study found that 42 percent of hospitals have accomplished meeting federal guidelines for gathering electronic health information, but only 5 percent have managed to meet requirements for interoperability of that data with other providers (Thomas, 2013).
ONC needs to take action by decertifying products that hinder the sharing of data. These habits thwart congressional goals, in addition to diminishing the investments of taxpayers in Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT). The Health IT Policy Committee demands a statement from ONC no later than 90 days after enactment of this act concerning the degree of the issue of lack of interoperability. This report should also include an approximation of the number of vendors, eligible hospitals, or providers who are hindering the sharing of data. This report should also include a plan on how to address this issue (Congress Demands ONC Take Action on Electronic Health Records and Interoperability, 2014).
The arrangement will allow the Health IT Policy Committee to give an account to the