The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking public comment on a draft strategy to reduce regulations and reporting requirements for clinicians when using health information technology, such as electronic health records.
HHS said Wednesday it aims to make the use of health systems less complicated and time-consuming.Â
The agency said that based on initial feedback from clinicians there is a need to improve the functionality and intuitiveness of EHRs, and to reduce the effort and time required to record health information and to meet regulatory reporting requirements.Â
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued the draft document in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.Â
Clinicians said spending more time entering data into the EHR and complying with documentation guidelines often led to less time with their patients. They also had difficulty finding patient information across health IT systems.
“Health IT tools need to be intuitive and functional so that clinicians can focus on their patients and not documentation,†said Don Rucker, HHS national coordinator for health information technology. “This draft strategy identifies ways the government and private sector can alleviate burden.â€
HHS will accept comments on the draft strategy until Jan. 28, 2019.
