President calls for HHS actions to reduce administrative burden, improve customer experience

President Biden yesterday ordered federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, to take certain actions to reduce administrative burden and improve the customer experience for organizations and the public. The executive order directs HHS to: 

• continue to design and deliver new personalized online tools and customer support options for Medicare enrollees;  
• strengthen requirements for maternal health quality measurement, including measuring perinatal quality and patient care experiences and evaluating the measurements by race and ethnicity to better identify inequities; 
• ensure applicants and beneficiaries in one program are to the extent allowed by law automatically enrolled in all programs for which they are eligible and state enrollment and renewal processes streamlined;  
• develop compliance guidance to HIPAA entities on providing telehealth to improve patient experience and convenience following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency; and 
• test methods to automate patient access to electronic prenatal, birth and postpartum health records (including lab results, genetic tests, ultrasound images, and clinical notes) to improve patient experiences in maternity care, health outcomes and equity.