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Most Healthcare IT Execs Unaware of Proposed Interoperability Rules

Most U.S. healthcare IT executives are unfamiliar with healthcare interoperability and information blocking rules being developed by HHS, according to new research from Accenture.

healthcare interoperability

Source: Thinkstock

By Fred Donovan

- Most U.S. healthcare IT executives are unfamiliar with healthcare interoperability and information blocking rules being developed by HHS, according to new research from Accenture.

Only 18 percent of the respondents polled by Accenture said they are “very familiar” with the proposed regulations, while 17 percent said they are completely unaware of it. Around 53 percent said they are “somewhat familiar,” with 12 percent “vaguely familiar.”

For the survey, Accenture polled 76 chief information officers, chief technology officers, and vice presidents of IT at U.S. healthcare payers and providers with more than $1 billion in revenue.

The HHS rules are being developed as part of the 21st Century Cures Act implementation. Among other provisions, the act requires that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) develop rules so that the following types of communications are not restricted or prohibited: the usability, interoperability, and security of health IT; information regarding users’ experience when using health IT; business practices of developers of health IT related to exchange of electronic health information, and the manner in which a health IT user employs such technology.

In addition, the act directs ONC to establish processes and standards for publishing application programming interfaces (APIs) so that such APIs allow health information to be accessed, exchanged, and used “without special effort,” including access to all data elements of a patient’s electronic health record.

The Accenture poll found that healthcare payers are better informed and prepared for the proposed regulations than healthcare providers. More than one-quarter of payers surveyed said they are “very familiar” with the regulations, compared to only 16 percent of providers. Similarly, 26 percent of payers said their organization is “very prepared,” compared to only 5 percent of providers.

Forty percent of respondents believe the proposed rules will have little or no impact on the IT operations of their organization, and 30 percent believe there will be little impact on their organization’s ability to meet the needs of their patients and customers.

“The ultimate goal of the upcoming regulations is to enhance customer choice and improve patient services and outcomes by vastly improving patient and cross-network access to patient medical records,” said Andy Truscott, managing director and technology consulting lead in Accenture’s Health practice and a member of U.S. federal government advisory groups on health IT and Health Level Seven (HL7).

“Our survey findings are a wake-up call for health organizations and agencies that remain relatively uninformed about the regulations, or who are not actively preparing. Complying with the regulations will provide them with a major opportunity to enhance the services they provide and to fundamentally improve consumer engagement in their healthcare,” Truscott added.

Accenture recommended that healthcare organizations lagging in awareness and preparedness should:

  • Ensure their technology and compliance leadership are familiar with the new rules
  • Assess and analyze their organization’s current interoperability provisions
  • Complete gap analyses and develop remediation plans for a 12- to 18-month timeframe
  • Manage internal and external communications to help healthcare professionals and consumers adapt to the new rules

Because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are developing similar rules, Medicaid agencies, state health information exchanges, and state chief information officers will also be impacted by the new requirements.

“The new regulations will have major implications for public sector health entities, including Medicaid departments, state health information exchanges, and state chief information officers,” said Phil Poley, Accenture managing director for public sector health.

“These organizations will need to understand what the regulations mean for them in terms of technology requirements, processes and serving their customers, which include citizens and organizations alike. Given the timetable and requirements for compliance, they need to be in heavy preparation and planning mode now,” Poley advised.