During this week's celebration of National Health IT Week, CMS will host a webinar series and release new tools and resources to foster participation in its eHealth programs, including the electronic health record incentive programs, the Physician Quality Reporting System and the eRx Incentive Program.
The new resources aim to provide information and answer questions about the programs for healthcare providers across the country. "We're trying to raise awareness about how these initiatives work together in the larger framework of health IT," says Robert Anthony, the deputy director of the CMS' Office of E-Health Standards and Services Health IT Group. "We're also explaining what providers need to participate and what the incentives are."
The release of the resources is part of CMS's larger health IT strategy. "When we picture the future of eHealth, we see seamless interactions between the patient, providers and health plans across multiple sites of care," says Robert Tagalicod, director of the OESS at CMS.
To Mr. Tagalicod, one of the first steps in achieving these seamless interactions is allowing eHealth programs to improve data exchange among different entities within the healthcare industry. To this end, the current CMS strategy revolves around fostering the standardized exchange and use of the data made available by EHRs and other new technologies. "In order to provide better care and bend the cost curve, we really need to leverage data," says Mr. Tagalicod, "and get to a place where we can say, at the point of care, this is what you need to do."
Mr. Tagalicod is optimistic significant strides toward national interoperability can be made in the next five years. "The way technology has improved, it's a definite possibility," he says. "We can make significant strides in five years."
The OESS is leading the charge to help ensure progress is made in the coming years, as it was charged by both HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Obama administration to help educate smaller, cash-strapped providers on how they can fully participate in eHealth programs. "We're focused on finding the right resources for these providers, from eligibility guides for meaningful use to guidelines for the ICD-10 transition," says Mr. Tagalicod, to bring smaller and cash-strapped providers into CMS programs.
Mr. Tagalicod sees the eHealth programs promoted by CMS as essential to moving toward a future of more patient-centered care. However, he says the programs are not meant to be a set of rigid governmental requirements to be checked off, but a roadmap to help providers make the use of available technology. To this end, he stresses his office's desire to work with healthcare providers to achieve the goals of the eHealth programs
"This is definitely a two-way street," says Mr. Tagalicod. "We need to hear from providers to know what the priorities should be," he says. "What are the codes that matter most? The quality measures that matter most? How can we move all of us forward together?"
During NHIT Week and in the coming months, Mr. Tagalicod would like to hear from providers on how to best achieve the vision of a seamless delivery of healthcare. "In the next 90 to 120 days, we have an opportunity to really begin to own the direction health IT will take in 2015 and beyond," he says.
"I'd like to challenge folks to give me their top three or five priorities right now, and then let's see what we can do about it," says Mr. Tagalicod. "It may depend on whether we have the funding, or the authority, but at least we'll know and it will help us move forward."
"The door's open," says Mr. Tagalicod. "We're listening."
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