The American College of Physicians (ACP) has pledged its support to improve interoperability among health information systems.
The college announced its pledge at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference being held this week in Las Vegas.
As part of its commitment, ACP will support following:
- Consumer access: Consumers should be able to easily and securely access their health information, direct it to a desired location, know how it will be shared and used, and know that it will be effectively and safely used.
- No blocking: Clinicians should share patients' health information for care with other clinicians and the patients themselves whenever permitted by law, and not knowingly or unreasonably block electronic health information.
- Standards implementation: ACP will work to support the implementation of federally recognized national interoperability standards for electronic health information.
"While the advantage of an electronic health records system is great, it has the potential to be even greater with the ability to transfer information among all of the systems that have contact with a patient," ACP Chief Executive Officer Dr. Steven Weinberger said in a statement.
