Knowledge Center

WEDI commends the work undertaken to advance interoperability but feels the proposed timeline is insufficient for provider adoption and implementation and EHR vendor development

WASHINGTON, DC — June 7, 2019 — WEDI, the nation’s leading nonprofit authority on the use of health IT to create efficiencies in healthcare information exchange and a statutory advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced the submission of recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology pertaining to the proposed rules implementing provisions in the 21^stCentury Cures Act. Following the submissions, WEDI today issued the following statement on behalf of Jay Eisenstock, Chair, WEDI Board of Directors:

“We want to commend the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the work undertaken to advance the interoperability of electronic health information. The 21st Century Cures Act pushed the issues of information blocking and lack of interoperability to the forefront of the industry and this proposed rule is a step towards addressing these issues. Although we support CMS in their effort to advance interoperability, WEDI feels – in concert with other health industry groups – that as proposed, the 24‐month timeline would be insufficient to allow for provider adoption and implementation and EHR vendor development.

“As CMS further develops their approach to advancing interoperability, we encourage the collaboration with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, as well as industry stakeholders such as WEDI.

“As an advisor to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and a multi-stakeholder organization comprised of health plans, providers, vendors and SDOs, WEDI offers the structure for intra‐industry collaboration. WEDI has proven leadership engaging the industry to address the most impactful changes of our time, including the National Provider Identifier, ICD‐10, health claim attachments and prior authorization. WEDI supports this proposed rule, which is CMS’ initial phase to advance interoperability across the United States health care system, and specifically within the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and issuers of qualified health plans (QHPs).”

On ONC’s proposed rule on Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program, Eisenstock added:

“As ONC further develops their approach to advancing interoperability, we encourage the collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as well as industry stakeholders such as WEDI. We applaud ONC’s initial phase to advance interoperability across the United States (U.S.) health care system in support of the access, exchange and use of electronic health information and encourage ONC refinements to the rule as offered in our submitted comments.”

WEDI’s complete recommendations, which were submitted via the Federal Regulations Web Portal, www.regulations.gov/, can be found on the WEDI website.

About WEDI
WEDI is the leading authority on the use of health IT to improve healthcare information exchange in order to enhance the quality of care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs of our nation’s healthcare system. WEDI was formed in 1991 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and was designated in the 1996 HIPAA legislation as an advisor to HHS. WEDI’s membership includes a broad coalition of organizations, including: hospitals, providers, health plans, vendors, government agencies, consumers, not-for-profit organizations, and standards development organizations. To learn more, visit www.wedi.org and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.