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HHS Announces Plan
to Improve EHR
Information Flow
The U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services (HHS) announced an initiative to make electronic health records
(EHRs) more easily accessible and useful
for patients. Sixteen health technology
companies that provide 90 percent of
EHRs used in hospitals nationwide have
pledged to participate in three key commitments outlined by the HHS:
• Improve consumer access by helping
them easily and securely access their
medical information and direct it to
any desired location
• End information blocking by helping providers share individuals’
health information for care, when
permitted by law
• Implement federally recognized,
national interoperability standards,
policies, guidance, and practices for
EHRs and adopt best practices with
regard to privacy and security
While most hospitals and physician’s
offices have moved toward using EHRs,
the ability to share patient information
between systems is limited, and EHRs
are often underused and difficult to access. Increasing access and usability will
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ASH Clinical News
bolster a major health database and help
propel precision medicine efforts forward, according to an HHS press release.
“Technology isn’t just one leg of
our strategy to build a better healthcare system for our nation, it supports
the entire effort,