Clinical IT leaders on meeting CMS' mandate for patient data access

To effectively share data with patients, hospitals and health systems must build a tech foundation centered on interoperability, driven by rigorous data standardization and secure exchanges – and the adoption of HL7's FHIR.

Making health data more accessible to patients – not to mention doctors and health plans – is a priority for all hospitals and health systems today, as the final Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Interoperability Rule mandates patient access.

But patients across the country know getting access to their health information is often challenging. In fact, as of 2020, only 60% of individuals nationwide reported being offered a patient portal for their data.

The good news is that with the appropriate technology foundation of APIs and data-sharing practices, the promise of true interoperability is not just possible but playing out in the real world, said Jean Ross, RN, cofounder and CEO of Primary Record, a patient information app.

We interviewed Ross and Dr. Ashley Moss, the founding physician of Pediatric Care Advisors, a Primary Record user, to discuss why greater data access is critical for patients and the entire healthcare industry, the kind of technology foundation hospitals and health systems need to share data with patients, data-sharing practices provider organizations must put into place to appropriately and safely share data with patients, and Moss' real-world example of bridging the gap between primary care and specialists for medically complex kids to ensure their care is easier to navigate for their families.

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