Inside CHIME: Health IT Policy Forecast

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1.7.16 by Leslie Krigstein
CHIME Vice President of Congressional Affairs

From Meaningful Use and interoperability to cybersecurity, health IT issues will get a lot of attention in Washington, D.C. this year.

If 2015 was the year that many health IT issues became mainstream for policymakers, 2016 could be the year that they are forced to the brink of needing to take action. (That is until D.C. goes into full-election mode and we then table all “meaningful” conversation until the next administration.)

I anticipate the topics of interest on Capitol Hill and within the administration will remain largely the same as 2015 and I’ve outlined some policy expectations for Meaningful Use, interoperability, cybersecurity and delivery system reform:

  • Meaningful Use

Congressional interest in Meaningful Use will intensify as the groundswell of provider and patient frustration grows louder. The fact that the provider community is largely in agreement that the program needs important revisions to generate the healthcare transformation envisioned by HITECH will certainly not go unnoticed by policymakers. Any program changes, specifically to Stage 3, will come in the payment rules set to be released in late spring/early summer.

  • Interoperability

This will remain a priority for both the administration and Congress. I anticipate patient identification will become an issue that can no longer be ignored. The quantity of digital data and patient expectations for exchange can’t become a reality until all stakeholders, including the federal government, can come to the table to discuss how we link patients to their data. The administration will continue to use the Interoperability Roadmap as the framework for their actions and solicitation of commitments from the public and private sectors to advance a variety of initiatives. Meanwhile, Congress will focus on arming EHR customers with resources they need to be educated consumers, and purse mechanisms to hold those perceived to be guilty of “information blocking” accountable.

  • Cybersecurity

Data breaches or the threat of intrusions will continue to keep CIOs and CISOs up at night. The conversations about cybersecurity in the healthcare sector have only really begun and I think all players along the healthcare continuum will need to engage in a sincere dialogue about risk tolerance and how we can keep patient data and devices secure. In response to the cyber information sharing law that was enacted last December, and the growing clamor from providers and patients alike, the administration will increase its focus on preparing the healthcare industry for cyber threats. There’s already early action in 2016: NIST has released an RFI on the “Framework for Improve Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” and the FDA is hosting a device security workshop in the coming weeks.

  • Payment and Delivery System Reform

Starting up a new payment mechanism for physicians seems like a daunting task, but it is an opportunity to truly modernize healthcare delivery. I look forward to seeing how federal IT programs, including Meaningful Use, are ultimately woven into new payment models, including MIPS. The administration has a huge opportunity to offer a course correction to the Meaningful Use program and enable telehealth (remote monitoring, etc.) to flourish as we make the important shift to value over volume with a heightened focus on outcomes. Further, as demonstrated by the CMS RFI released on December 31 on electronic clinical quality measurement, I anticipate conversation to pick-up not just on the role of certified EHRs in generality quality measures, but greater reporting harmonization and an emphasis on outcomes-focused measures in specific use cases.

But, all of these predictions I offer under the caveat of 2016 being an election year, so truly all bets are off!

Cheers to a great 2016!

More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 8: