Dive Brief:
- Health IT groups are facing off over language in the new federal spending bill signed by President Obama which would decertify EMRs which can't share data with other electronic medical records.
- The newly-signed continuing resolution on the spending bill requires the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to decertify EMR systems that don't interoperate. The ONC has 90 days to submit a plan articulating the interoperability problem, including an estimate of the number of vendors, hospitals and professionals that can't share health data and a plan to address the issue.
- Health IT trade group HIMSS, which otherwise supports interoperability efforts, says that the mandate could have a negative impact on the industry. Meanwhile, EMR vendor athenahealth supports the requirement, arguing that the government shouldn't subsidize technologies that hamper interoperability.
Dive Insight:
This new requirement is justifiably making headlines, as it could certainly have some impact on the industry, whether positive or negative is anyone's guess this point. If nothing else, having the ONC present a thorough report to Congress on obstacles to interoperability, including both provider- and vendor-based, can only represent a step in the right direction. After all, no one in the healthcare industry argues that interoperability is important, though they debate loudly over the best means of achieving it.
That being said, the EMR vendor industry has shown a remarkable ability to avoid calls for interoperability in the past. And it's been very successful at defusing tensions on the Hill over spending Meaningful Use dollars on closed EMRs.
Certainly, decertification threats would seem like they'll force vendors to go interoperable at long last. Vendors that don't will have to give up any customer that needs a certified EMR to achieve Meaningful Use. But the history of the EMR vendor market suggests that they'll wriggle out of this demand somehow.
The bottom line is that converting existing EMRs to become fully interoperable and certifiable could prove extremely expensive, so most vendors are likely to resist in any way they can. Don't be surprised if they change Congress' mind this time, too.