One possible opportunity to enforce this as Meaningful Use stage III. The requirements for stage III EHR certification, which have yet to be finalized, should include a necessity for every vendor to adopt a consistent format for information exchange and data transmission. Making this a certification requirement will ensure that all EHR products remain cooperative if they plan to stay competitive.
Another solution being considered involves the use of centralized "Health Information Exchanges," which could collect and warehouse data from multiple sources and then retransmit those data in a universally readable format. Either way, if a consensus can be reached and issues over privacy and security addressed, it will only spell a victory for physicians and patients and truly get us on the road to improved patient care and outcomes. We tend to agree with Dr. DeSalvo, and believe that victory is well within reach.
Dr. Notte is a family physician and clinical informaticist for Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital. He is also a partner in EHR Practice Consultants, a firm that aids physicians in adopting electronic health records. An avid programmer, he has published software for handheld devices in partnership with national organizations, and he is always looking for new ways to bring evidence-based medicine to the point of care. Dr. Skolnik is associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington Memorial Hospital and professor of family and community medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia. He is also editor-in-chief of Redi-Reference Inc., a software company that creates mobile apps.
