By Stephanie Jamison (Greenway Health), Chair, and William Hayes, M.D. (Trubridge), Vice Chair, EHR Association With its Draft 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, ONC seeks to enhance individual and community health through improved healthcare experiences, advanced research and innovation, and integrated health data systems – important goals the EHR Association finds commendable provided the ..read more

By Janet Campbell (Epic), Chair, EHR Association Social Determinants of Health & Health Equity Task Force A patient’s risk within social determinant of health (SDOH) domains is typically assessed by social care or healthcare professionals through either conversation or use of standard screening questionnaires or validated testing instruments. The challenge, however, is a lack of ..read more

By Josh Mast (Oracle Health), Chair, EHR Association Public Policy Leadership Workgroup As the 21st Century Cures Act transitions from policy to practice, numerous states are looking at their interoperability and privacy regulations with an eye toward enacting laws governing healthcare and health IT utilization. This includes establishing state health data utilities (HDUs), health information ..read more

By Leigh Burchell (Altera Digital Health), Vice Chair, EHR Association Information Blocking Compliance Task Force The EHR Association submitted feedback to the Office of the National Coordinator’s proposed rule for Health Information Technology (ONC) concerning the Establishment of Disincentives for Health Care Providers That Have Committed Information Blocking. This proposed rule aims to establish disincentives ..read more

By Tammy Coutts (MEDITECH), Vice Chair of the EHR Association User Experience Work Group, and Libby Eddings (Oracle Health), Member of the User Experience Work Group Disability isn’t a lightbulb that switches on and off. Nor do symptoms travel in a straight line. In fact, the only certainty about disabilities is they will, at some ..read more

By Anne Snowdon RN, PhD, FAAN, Chief Scientific Research Officer, HIMSS, and Dana Trampas, Digital Health Advisor, HIMSS In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the concept of digital maturity stands as a beacon of progress, promising to revolutionize patient safety, quality of care, and workforce sustainability. Collaborative efforts between the HIMSS OSR (Office of Scientific ..read more

By Didi Davis, Vice President of Informatics, Conformance & Interoperability with the Sequoia Project When folks talk about interoperability, the conversation is usually focused on the “why” or the “how” for health information exchange. The Sequoia Project, in partnership with AHIMA and health IT organizations participating in the Data Usability Taking Root Movement, is expanding ..read more

By Stephanie Jamison (Greenway Health), Chair, EHR Association Last year ended with a bang as ONC issued the HTI-1 final rule and officially opened the doors to TEFCA by designating the first five QHINs. It was a small taste of what’s to come in 2024, and the EHR Association will be busy ensuring our members ..read more

By David Bucciferro (Foothold Technology-Radicle Health), Outgoing Chair, EHR Association Reflecting on 2023, the year was dominated primarily by five issues of importance to the EHR Association and its 29 member companies, all of which aligned with our overarching focus on collaborative efforts to accelerate health information and technology adoption, advance interoperability, and improve the ..read more

By Hans Buitendijk (Oracle) Ex Officio Member, EHRA Executive Committee As USCDI and USCDI+ expand, we see an increase in ambiguities in their data definitions that are creating increased challenges for programs and health IT required to support USCDI as intended. It’s of particular concern for certified health IT developers, as the ambiguity gap raises ..read more