Is your EHR ready for the new year?
By IPN
Practices are hearing about FHIR standards for their patient data – and unless you have a staff member solely responsible for IT in your practice, the terms may be confusing. It is all about promoting interoperability.
FHIR stands for the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource and was a term created under the 21st Century Cures Act and its information blocking initiative. The term is often used as FHIR API, where API is an entry point, or “interface,” that allows a computer program or system to access the features and data of a different program or system.
FHIR will allow health apps to access your patient data when requested by the patient or another third party.
For example, your patient wants to download their health information to the Apple Health app or the CommonHealth app for Android.
What does this mean for your practice?
By Dec. 31, 2022, your practice must be using an EHR that can “certify to 170.315(g)(10) Standardized API for Patient and Population Services,” which included criteria met for privacy and security of patient data from your practice.
Practices are strongly encouraged to check with their current EHR vendor to ensure they are on track to meet the requirements set under this criterion.1
Will I be penalized if we do not use a certified EHR?
Many agencies are hopeful that compliance under FHIR will improve the quality of patient care and help see a complete view of a patient’s health. While there may be no current penalty for non-compliance, practices that treat patients on Medicare or Medicaid understand that adoption and integration often become a matter of when and not if.
