CMS Draft Rule Promotes Data Exchange Across the Care Continuum
The recent CMS draft rule – the Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems rule – that improves the hospital reimbursement process could also have another major benefit: enhancing data exchange across the care continuum.
According to a recent analysis by Pew, the draft rule will help to modernize how hospitals share information through their electronic record systems so doctors and nurses can provide the best care possible.
Pew also highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the importance of rapid, accessible data to address public health crises and the challenges that come from not having this data.
In addition, EHR Intelligence discussed how there is an optional measure in the draft rule that allows hospitals in the PI program to show that they are sharing valuable clinical information with other providers. The article also pointed out how hospitals can meet these requirements by exchanging data with health information exchanges (HIEs).
To exchange data with HIEs, hospitals could leverage application-programming interfaces (APIs), which gather information from multiple sources and aggregate it in one place. In addition, APIs could be based on the FHIR standard, and would allow providers to access specific pieces of information – rather than having to sort through pages of unnecessary or unhelpful records.
Open for comments through June, the draft rules also include a request for feedback on ways to encourage greater use of APIs, which could be used to automate data reporting for EHRs.
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