AMA Advocacy Win: New Policies Boost Interoperability for Physicians

The American Medical Association (AMA) has advocated for years for federal reforms to make sharing patient data easier and more complete for physicians. Thanks to AMA's efforts, new policies require all participating electronic health records (EHRs) to connect directly to national data-sharing networks approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This means that physicians will soon be able to access real-time, full patient information, including clinical notes, images, and medication lists, without extra logins or clicks.

Key Takeaways:

• The new policies require EHRs to support seamless access to full medical records, including unstructured data such as PDFs and images.
• Automatic encounter notifications will be implemented, alerting physicians within 24 hours when their patients go to the emergency department, are hospitalized, or see another provider.
• Patients will be able to present digital IDs or QR codes at check-in, allowing outside records to flow directly into the EHRs without creating new portal accounts.
• Smart visit summaries will be provided to patients, enabling them to easily access their medical records without extra log-ins.
• The AMA is pushing vendors to deliver these capabilities in a way that works in the small-practice environment, with streamlined workflows, clear labeling of patient-submitted data, and no extra fees for accessing unstructured content.
• Physicians are advised to start conversations with their vendors to confirm timelines for implementing 24-hour encounter alerts, support for updated connection capabilities, and patient identity verification without new portal accounts.

Statistics:

• The new policies aim to reduce the cost of care by preventing duplicate lab orders and catching medication changes made during specialist visits.
• Practices will be notified within 24 hours when their patients visit the emergency department or see another clinician, paving the way for coordinated care.
• The AMA estimates that the new policies will lead to fewer phone calls and portal chases among physicians.
• The number of electronic health records expected to connect directly to national data-sharing networks is not specified in the original text.

Sources:

• American Medical Association. (2023). AMA advocacy win: New policies boost interoperability for physicians.
• American Medical Association. (2023). AMA Press Releases.
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Interoperability Requirements.