ASCO urges Congress to legislate better EHR interoperability
The American Society for Clinical Oncology has issued a position statement urging Congress to pass legislation that would strengthen interoperability of EHRs.
To achieve a fully interoperable health IT system, "all health IT initiatives that utilize big data must have the ability to electronically share clinical information between practitioners," according to the organization.
One issue of particular relevance to the group is barriers to sharing data from adult clinical trials using disparate systems, including information blocking, according to Clifford Hudis, chair-elect of ASCO’s government relations committee.
During a Capitol Hill briefing, ASCO asked Congress to quickly enact legislation that provides a clear path to achieving widespread interoperability and eliminates unjustified information blocking; ensure that costs of achieving interoperability of EHRs do not fall on cancer patients, oncologists and oncology providers; and work with stakeholders to help healthcare providers make informed decisions when purchasing and using health IT systems.
ASCO also highlighted its progress on creating CancerLinQ, a health IT platform that aims to give providers access to real-time data. The system is currently used at 15 practices throughout the U.S. The platform allows for the display of patients’ treatments, side effects and outcomes.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.