Hospital groups urge HHS to speed health IT infrastructure, not Stage 3 rule

Seven national hospital groups today urged the Department of Health and Human Services to work with stakeholders to accelerate the infrastructure needed for health information exchange and Stage 3 meaningful use of electronic health records, and refrain from finalizing a Stage 3 rule at this time. “We believe the creation of an efficient and effective infrastructure for health information exchange is essential to support the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care and is a precursor to many of the proposed advances for Stage 3,” the organizations wrote. They said their commitment to the successful use of EHRs and electronic exchange of health information “remains strong. We believe that providing additional time for maturation of implemented technology and optimization to support meaningful use and other regulatory requirements is the right policy to keep all stakeholders focused on the activities that will support the better quality care for patients and for populations.” In addition to AHA, signers of the letter include America’s Essential Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Children’s Hospital Association, Premier healthcare alliance, and VHA Inc.