CMS BLOG
March
2, 2016
By: Andy Slavitt, Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator,
Karen DeSalvo, National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Acting Assistant
Secretary for Health
Bridging
the Healthcare Digital Divide: Improving Connectivity Among Medicaid Providers
The
great promise of technology is to bring information to our fingertips, connect
us to one another, improve our productivity, and create a platform for the next
generation of innovations. Technology, when widely distributed and available,
enables providers to improve patient care by distributing information and best
practices and leading to better experiences of care for individuals in the
health care system. And technology can make a significant difference in the
rapidly modernizing Medicaid program.
Connecting
All Parts of the Health System
That's
why today, we are announcing an initiative to bring interoperable technology to
a broader universe of health care providers, including long-term care,
behavioral health providers, substance abuse treatment centers, and other
providers that have been slower to adopt technology. This announcement
will help to bridge an information sharing gap in Medicaid by permitting states
to request the 90 percent enhanced matching funds from CMS to connect a broader
variety of Medicaid providers to a health information exchange than those
providers who are eligible for such connections today. This additional funding
will enhance the sustainability of health information exchanges and lead to
increased connectivity among Medicaid providers.
Doctors
and other clinicians need access to the right information at the right time in
a manner they can use to make decisions that impact their patient’s health. The
free flow of information is hampered when not all doctors, facilities or other
practice areas are able to make a complete circuit. Adding long-term care
providers, behavioral health providers, and substance abuse treatment
providers, for example, to statewide health information exchange systems will
enable seamless sharing of a patients’ health information between doctors or
other clinicians when it’s needed. This sharing helps create a more
complete care team to collaborate on the best treatment plans and goals for
Medicaid patients.
Modernizing
Medicaid
Today’s
announcement is another example of how Medicaid is leading change for its
beneficiaries and throughout the health care system. But this is more than a
technology initiative. It is part of a comprehensive effort to make sure that
the 72 million adults, children, seniors and people with disabilities served by
the Medicaid program have access to high quality, coordinated
care. Improving population health and addressing the needs of complex
populations requires strong health information technology tools.
The
benefits are tangible – from care coordination to medication reconciliation to
public health reporting. Exchanging care information can support patients with
multiple chronic conditions as they navigate specialists, hospitals, primary
care, home health care, and pharmacies. Medication reconciliation for children
in the foster care system avoids duplicative or missed treatments. And, public
health reporting sounds the warning bell on potential public health disasters
and improves the use of preventive measures, such as immunizations. This
investment should also speed the adoption of alternative payment models that
focus on the quality rather than the quantity of care provided. As the Medicaid
program moves towards paying for quality, technology infrastructure and
information exchange is needed for better care coordination.
CMS
and ONC look forward to partnering with and supporting states in these and
other critical efforts to modernize and connect the Medicaid program for the
millions of beneficiaries they serve.
No comments:
Post a Comment