ONC has completed this report, and in it the agency outlined four mechanisms that the healthcare community could use to compare and select CEHRT. Two of the mechanisms are geared toward providers to help in their selection, and two are geared toward developers to improve the tools they develop.
The mechanisms addressed to providers are:
1. Provide targeted technical assistance to providers. Such technical assistance could include on-site consultations or virtual education to help guide providers on selecting and optimizing health IT systems. The report emphasizes much of this technical assistance should be directed beyond primary care physicians, including non-physician healthcare providers, specialists, rural providers, behavioral health, long-term/post-acute care providers and support staff. “Although a number of existing comparison tools present comparative information for providers with different knowledge sets, segments of the healthcare community may be unaware of those resources,” according to the report.
2. Improve awareness of the comparison tool marketplace. While CEHRT comparison tools do exist, many healthcare providers are unaware of them, according to the report, especially providers in under-resourced and small practices. If providers know about these comparison tools, they can more easily facilitate their CEHRT decisions. The report suggests developing a “clearinghouse” of comparison tools that identify the tools’ scope, intended audience, relevant business practices and cost of use.
The mechanisms addressed to the market are:
1. Collect and share information on CEHRT. Information gaps remain for providers trying to select certified EHR technology, including patchy information regarding cost transparency, product integration, quality metrics and population health, targeted market and usability. If the industry makes this information more widely available, the comparison tools themselves will improve, according to the report. “Subjective product reviews and rankings of certified health IT should continue to be the purview of the private sector and professional societies that best understand the needs of their constituents,” according to the report.
2. Collaborate with stakeholders to develop comparison tools that better meet providers’ CEHRT comparison needs. More collaboration is needed between the federal government, comparison tool developers and other stakeholders, according to the report. For example, federal agencies like HHS can gather information on specific health IT needs from different healthcare communities and then share that information with the comparison tool market to better address those needs.
Overall, the report indicates there are too many gaps in the comparison tool marketplace, and the need for such a tool is only going to increase as health IT becomes more central to healthcare operations.
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