The AHA recommended to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology that interoperability should be measured not only by electronic health information exchange and use, but should also include: availability of standards, structures and infrastructure to support those goals.
One requirement of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act is the achievement of widespread exchange of health information through interoperable certified electronic health record technology by the end of 2018. The AHA had several recommendations including:
- broaden the scope of data sharing it measures
- refine the approach of measurement
- determine whether shared information is being used for care
It also notes the limits to meaningful use data for assessing interoperability.