The U.S. Senate has eliminated language prohibiting innovation round nationwide affected person identification from its most up-to-date appropriations invoice. Well being trade stakeholders are applauding the transfer – and pushing for extra progress towards fixing this longstanding interoperability problem.
WHY IT MATTERS
Affected person ID Now – a stakeholder group comprising HIMSS (guardian firm of Healthcare IT Information), the American Faculty of Surgeons, the American Well being Info Administration Affiliation, the Faculty of Healthcare Info Administration Executives, Intermountain Healthcare and Premier Healthcare Alliance – cheered the removing of the ban from the Labor, Well being and Human Providers, Schooling, and Associated Companies (Labor-HHS) appropriations invoice.
Since its founding in 2020, and even earlier than that, Affected person ID Now and its member teams have sought to construct bipartisan momentum towards enabling correct affected person identification – beginning first by eradicating the “antiquated” legislative boundaries blocking analysis into new methods for distinctive affected person identification.
The group has solid a highlight on the various challenges brought on by affected person misidentification: misfiled diagnoses, hobbled interoperability and, particularly in the course of the pandemic, “duplicate well being data created in the course of the vaccination registration course of and disruptions in vaccine availability at supplier websites due to inaccurate affected person documentation.”
THE LARGER TREND
The U.S. Home of Representatives already eliminated the affected person ID ban in its model of the Labor-HHS appropriations invoice. With the motion within the Senate, Affected person ID Now’s imploring Congress to formally go a regulation to take away the ban – in place for greater than 20 years now – on creating a nationwide technique for identification and matching.
The COVID-19 public well being emergency has been an object lesson within the want for correct affected person matching.
In April, Affected person ID Now revealed a brand new nationwide strategic framework for affected person identification and matching, and known as on the federal government to companion with public well being businesses and different personal sector teams to assist guarantee privateness, safety and affected person security.
ON THE RECORD
“HIMSS applauds the Senate Appropriations Committee for eradicating the dangerous ban and taking motion to handle affected person identification,” mentioned HIMSS President & CEO Hal Wolf in a press release.
“The challenges our healthcare system skilled in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the pressing want for our neighborhood to interact with HHS to develop and advance a nationwide affected person identification technique,” mentioned Wolf. “For too lengthy, this outdated prohibition has impeded innovation and jeopardized affected person security. It’s time for Congress to lastly repeal the ban.”
“We sit up for the near-term launch of the congressionally-mandated affected person identification report from the HHS Workplace of the Nationwide Coordinator for Well being Info Know-how and enactment into regulation of an HHS funding invoice that removes the archaic prohibition and permits HHS to work with the personal sector to lastly obtain an efficient nationwide technique on affected person identification,” added Intermountain Healthcare Chief Info Officer Ryan Smith.
Twitter:Â @MikeMiliardHITN
E-mail the author:Â mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT Information is a HIMSS publication.
