Washington Debrief: More Associations Urge Meaningful Use Extension, Payment Adjustments

In response to a Bipartisan Policy Center blog on the release of federal recommendations on a risk-based regulatory framework for health IT, CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell commended the FDASIA Workgroup for its work.  “The recommendations rendered by the Workgroup illustrate the challenges surrounding patient safety and health IT,” he wrote.  “For example, when examining the root cause of a patient safety event, it can be extremely difficult to determine whether a system failure or a human failure is ultimately responsible.”  Branzell also said the FDASIA Workgroup wisely repeated a mantra echoed in BPC’s framework, calling for “shared responsibility” between developers, providers, implementers and regulators as a guiding principle in regulating health IT.  “But [the Workgroup’s] recommendations also illustrate the need for coordinated action across HHS, the broader administration and Congress.  Because the issue of patient safety spans several jurisdictions, especially in an increasingly mobile world, it is important that the Office of the National Coordinator and the Food and Drug Administration work in tandem with the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in defining a proper tact towards risk-based regulation.” 

“As HHS looks to compile its final report to Congress, we at CHIME believe it necessary to craft a framework that incorporates and aligns existing programs and policies; encourages ways to discover how health IT can improve patient safety as well as mitigate possible harms caused by health IT; and enables regulators to craft extensible policy that can adjust to the rapidly-changing landscape of health information technology.”  For the entire post, click here.