Twenty years in the past this month, 21 of the business’s main EHR distributors got here collectively to kind what was then referred to as the HIMSS EHR Vendor Affiliation to speed up the widespread adoption of EHRs. It was based mostly on a daring premise: rivals working collaboratively to establish points associated to software program growth and performance for EHR merchandise and to additional the initiatives specified by the Well being IT Strategic Framework, which had been launched in July 2004 by what was then often known as the ONC (now ASTP).
The brand new affiliation was additionally tasked with serving to HIMSS set up its strategic path and official positions on points associated to the EHR and offering enter and suggestions to the certification course of established by CCHIT.
In a press launch asserting the brand new affiliation, the founding chair, Charlene Underwood, described it as a historic alternative to enhance healthcare supply within the US.
EHR expertise has confirmed its capacity to make healthcare safer, extra environment friendly, and extra handy for sufferers in addition to suppliers. As EHR distributors, we’ve got a accountability to our clients to form the way forward for interoperability for efficient and safe sharing of affected person knowledge, and to the nation to advertise the widespread adoption of this life-saving expertise.
“EHR expertise has confirmed its capacity to make healthcare safer, extra environment friendly, and extra handy for sufferers in addition to suppliers. As EHR distributors, we’ve got a accountability to our clients to form the way forward for interoperability for efficient and safe sharing of affected person knowledge, and to the nation to advertise the widespread adoption of this life-saving expertise,” she stated.
In the present day, the well being IT market is vastly completely different from what it was in 2004. Again then, hospital EHR adoption was 9% and office-based doctor observe adoption was 17%. In the present day, properly over 96% of hospitals and 78% of physicians use an EHR, the vast majority of that are licensed via the ASTP-driven course of. Within the years because the EHRA was established, a lot of our founding member firms have been via acquisitions or mergers, and new market entrants have additionally joined the Affiliation.
The Voice of the EHR Developer
The evolution of the well being IT market could be seen in our file of accomplishments. Through the years, we’ve got labored to make sure our members’ voices had been heard on regulatory and coverage problems with essential significance to each EHR builders and the suppliers who use our applied sciences. We now have submitted feedback and met with policymakers on every little thing from significant use and requirements growth to the Nationwide Well being Info Change and TEFCA to the 21st Century Cures Act, HTI-1 and HTI-2 – all of which could be discovered on our web site’s Statements and Positions web page.
The evolution of the well being IT market could be seen in our file of accomplishments. Through the years, we’ve got labored to make sure our members’ voices had been heard on regulatory and coverage problems with essential significance to each EHR builders and the suppliers who use our applied sciences.
Nevertheless, we did extra than simply provide suggestions and suggestions. We’ve held quite a few Congressional Briefings over time, specializing in points such because the function of EHRs in value-based care and the twenty first Century Cures Act, in addition to:
We’ve additionally leveraged our collective experience to supply member firms with instruments to navigate a tumultuous regulatory panorama, which could be discovered on our web site’s Publications & Instruments web page.
We additionally revealed the business’s first EHR Developer Code of Conduct, which displays our members’ dedication to supporting secure healthcare supply, fostering continued innovation, and working with excessive integrity out there.
Socially Primarily based Initiatives
Our work extends into the neighborhood. As a fledgling group, we joined forces with HL7 and HIMSS for catastrophe response efforts within the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We later lent our help as an implementation accomplice of text4baby, a free well being textual content messaging service that offered data to pregnant ladies and new moms.
We additionally undertook quite a few initiatives focusing on the nation’s opioid disaster, the latest of which was publication of the Opioid Tapering Implementation Information for EHRs.
In the present day’s EHR Affiliation
The Affiliation itself has additionally developed. In 2009, we rebranded because the “EHR Affiliation”, and at this time our membership consists of the 29 firms that offer the overwhelming majority of EHRs to hospitals and physicians’ practices nationwide.
We proceed our mission to enhance the standard and effectivity of care via modern, interoperable well being IT adoption and use via the efforts of a wide range of workgroups and job forces, every of which focuses on a novel side of well being IT regulation, adoption, and utilization.
Please be a part of us as we rejoice 20 years of achievements and look forward to one other 20 years of accomplishments on behalf of our numerous membership.
Healthcare IT Information is a HIMSS publication. This text was reposted from the EHRA Weblog.
For extra data on the EHR Affiliation and its mission and imaginative and prescient, please go to our web site at www.ehra.org. Keep present on our initiatives, priorities, and insights into business traits and rising coverage, by subscribing to our weblog at www.ehrablog.org. You can even discover us on X and LinkedIn.
