HHS IDs healthcare IT standards

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) has formally recognized three new interoperability specifications related to EHRs, personal health records (PHRs) and electronic quality monitoring.

According to Government Health IT, the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) interoperability specifications now recognized as standards are:
  • IS04 Emergency Responder EHR Version 1;
  • IS05 Consumer Empowerment and Access to Clinical Information via Portable Media Version 1; and
  • IS06 Quality Version 1.

The formal recognition is part of a two-step process in which specifications are first accepted by the HHS secretary and then recognized a year later, Government Health IT reported.

The recognition process “is critical to advancing both federal and private sector use of health IT standards,” according to the HHS. The official recognition was published Jan. 21 in the Federal Register.

HITSP said that consumer empowerment specification provides standards for exchanging PHR data between patients and providers through physical media or secure email exchange.

The panel views the quality specification as enabling real-time or near real-time feedback to clinicians regarding quality indicators for patients, according to Government Health IT.

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