“A senior official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts 2018 will mark a notable shift in healthcare regulation.”
““2018 is going to be a significant year in terms of regulatory and burden reduction,” CMS’ Chief Medical Officer Kate Goodrich, M.D., told audience members at a listening session hosted by CMS and the Office for the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) on Thursday.”
“Reducing physician burden is a top priority for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Trump administration as a whole. In an economic report (PDF) released earlier this week, the White House singled out the EHR reporting requirements as one reason that small physician groups and solo providers have been forced to merge with larger hospitals, stifling competition.”
“CMS has launched specific campaigns directed at reducing documentation requirements and talking with physicians about regulatory reform. ONC, meanwhile, is acutely focused on EHR interoperability and usability.”
“But Goodrich said the agency has already targeted “seriously low-hanging fruit,” most of which can be resolved without high-tech gadgetry. Even small technical changes that seem “stupid” at first glance…” Read the full article here.
Source: CMS’ Kate Goodrich pegs 2018 as a ‘significant year’ for burden reduction, touts an ‘API-first strategy’ – By Evan Sweeney, February 23, 2018. FierceHealthcare.




