HIMSS identifies its 10 top priorities for government

How do your top concerns related to health information technology compare with the priorities identified by the “Call for Action” for 2011/2012 recently released by the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)?

The development of an open and transparent electronic health record (EHR) certification criteria process and support for the establishment of an informed patient identity solution are two of the 10 policy priorities identified in the action plan which summarizes the society’s top policy priorities for the 112th Congress and the Obama administration.

The other eight priorities:

• supporting the National Quality Forum’s National Priorities Partnership;

• ensuring a consolidated communications tool and comprehensive roadmap for meaningful use;

• defining each new meaningful use stage at least 18 months before the beginning of the next stage;

• establishing grievance processes for providers for meaningful use;

• expanding and making permanent the current Stark exemptions and anti-kickback safe harbors for EHRs;

• eliminating the business associate agreement requirement;

• providing grants and other incentives to establish health information technology action zones; and

• aligning federal policy to facilitate electronic business processes.