Electronic Health Records (EHRs), The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)

The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a new report on the topic of electronic health records (EHRs) titled “Recommended Requirements for Enhancing Data Quality in Electronic Health Records.” This report intends to assist private and public health insurers with identifying requirements for EHRs that can help enhance data protections and quality, as well as bolster fraud and waste management.

NHCAA is proud to have taken part in this effort. For the past several months, NHCAA Executive Director, Louis Saccoccio participated as a member of the Model Requirements Executive Team (MRET), tasked with conducting the project and comprised of nearly two dozen prominent organizations.

The report offers 14 recommended functional requirements for Electronic Health Records (EHRs):

Audit Functions and Features
Provider Identification
User Access Authorization
Documentation Process Issues
Evaluation and Management (E&M) Coding
Proxy Authorship
Record Modification after Signature
Auditor Access to Patient Records
EHR Traceability
Patient Involvement in Anti-Fraud
Patient Identity-Proofing
Structured and Coded Data
Integrity of EHR Transmission
Accurate Linkage of Claims to Clinical Records

Click here to view the full report, “Recommended Requirements for Enhancing Data Quality in Electronic Health Records”.