health information technology | VBCExhibitHall Library

U.S. Agency Prioritizes Sharing Data on Social Determinants of Health, Such as Housing and Transportation

July 22, 2021Garrett SchmittNo CommentsData, health information technology, Interoperability, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, ONC, SDOH, social determinants, social determinants of health, U.S. Core Data for Interoperability, USCDI

On July 9, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the federal agency that oversees health information technology, announced a long-awaited change that could help doctors and nurses provide better, more timely care for their patients. The agency released an updated version of the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI), a…

CMS Needs to Rethink How Medicare Assesses Quality

July 14, 2021Garrett SchmittNo CommentsCMS, Data, eCQMs, health information technology, healthcare technology, Medicare, MSSP, quality assessment

In less than a decade, accountable care organizations (ACOs) have grown from nothing to caring for nearly 20% of all Medicare beneficiaries. Throughout this period of remarkable growth, quality improvement has been a critical component of Medicare ACO programs. A set of predefined quality measures incentivizes doctors, hospitals, and other providers in an ACO to provide…