New CMS office to focus on burden reduction, health informatics

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has created an Office of Burden Reduction and Health Informatics to build on its Patients over Paperwork initiative across Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Health Insurance Marketplace and use health data to foster innovation and better care.

“Specifically, the work of this new office will be targeted to help reduce unnecessary burden, increase efficiencies, continue administrative simplification, increase the use of health informatics, and improve the beneficiary experience,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

The agency expects the office to engage more with clinicians, providers and health plans to understand how various regulatory burdens impact health care delivery.

AHA last year recommended a number of actions the agency could take to reduce the burden of clinical documentation.