CMS Unveils API-based Program to Expand Clinician Access to Health Data
CMS on Tuesday unveiled a new pilot program called Data at the Point of Care, which is based on an industry-standard API designed to give clinicians easier access to a patient’s health data contained in the Blue Button claims database.
Source: CMS
- CMS unveiled on July 30 a new pilot program called Data at the Point of Care (DPC), which is based on an industry-standard API designed to give clinicians easier access to a patient’s health data contained in the Blue Button claims database.
CMS explained that claims data will fill in information gaps for clinicians, giving them a more complete patient history with health data such as previous diagnoses, past procedures, and medication lists.
Using an API based on the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (FHIR), clinicians will be able to access the data directly within their workflow, without needing to log into another application. This will reduce burden in the exam room and give clinicians more time to spend with their patients.
“Technology, coupled with open data sharing, is how we will improve value, control costs and keep patients healthy while ensuring a solvent Medicare program for generations to come,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
CMS said that clinicians participating in DPC will be able to request Medicare beneficiaries’ claims data to get a better understanding of their care, including from other healthcare providers the beneficiaries have seen.
DPC, part of the White House's MyHealthEData initiative, is one of several steps CMS is taking to expand healthcare interoperability. Last year, CMS launched Blue Button 2.0, a FHIR-based claims API for Medicare beneficiaries. It gives beneficiaries the ability to securely connect their data to apps and other tools developed by third parties.
Most recently, CMS issued the Interoperability and Patient Access Proposed Rule, which would require health plans regulated by the rule to follow CMS’s lead with Blue Button 2.0 by making patient data available through an API. This is intended to make it easier to access, use, and share claims data for 85 million patients, including those covered by Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, CHIP and health plans sold on the federal exchanges.
