Electronic Health Records See Both Improvement and Persistent Gaps Since 2016 Law
Ben Moscovitch, health information technology project director for The Pew Charitable Trusts, testified March 26 before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He addressed improvements to health information technology after passage of the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016 and discussed further steps that are needed to help electronic health record systems reach their full potential.
A new study finds that consistent use of standards for demographic data would help link patients’ records from various providers, no matter where they seek care. Many of the standards, such as the address format used by the U.S. Postal Service, are already in use in other settings, but not consistently when it comes to matching in health care.
Much of the internet used daily by millions of Americans is powered by tools that allow the transfer and use of data from many sources. Websites display numerous new tweets in real time, applications aggregate personal spending habits and investments, and widgets show the current weather. These tools, called application programming interfaces (APIs), enable easy and prompt access to data through algorithms so that information can be shared and used in creative ways.
How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?
