On May 28, 2015, a panel from the American Medical Informatics Association (“AMIA”) published an eleven-page “Report of the AMIA EHR 2020 Task Force on the Status and Future Direction of EHRs.” Recognizing that current problems in EHR use “are complex” and that “[s]olving these problems will require regulatory stability, the development of an acceptable threshold ‘barrier to entry’ into the EHR marketplace, and a supportive national policy,” the report outlines ten “near-term strategies” to address challenges with EHR systems.
The report’s recommendations cover five areas, which should be “a focus” over the next six to twelve months. These areas are:
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Simplify and speed documentation;
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Refocus regulation;
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Increase transparency and streamline certification;
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Foster innovation; and
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“The EHR in 2020 must support person-centered care delivery.”
The recommendations include:
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Lessen the data entry burden on clinicians, by allowing relevant information to be entered by, for example, other members of the care team;
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Focus regulation on clarifying and simplifying certification procedures and meaningful use regulations, improving data exchange and interoperability, cutting the need for duplicate data entry, and prioritizing patient outcomes;
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Improve flexibility and transparency in the EHR certification process to improve usability and safety and foster innovation;
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Use “public standards-based application programming interfaces and data standards that will enable EHRs to become more open to innovators, researchers, and patients”; and
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Integrate EHRs into the full social context of care.