This article focuses on the requirements and current developments in clinical decision support technologies for immunizations (CDSi) in both the public health and clinical communities, with an emphasis on shareable solutions. The requirements of the Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs have raised some unique challenges for the clinical community, including vocabulary mapping, update of changing guidelines, single immunization schedule, and scalability. This article discusses new, collaborative approaches whose long-term goal is to make CDSi more sustainable for both the public and private sectors.

Jason Goldwater explains how blockchain technology is used to foster the development of patient-reported outcome measures in a detailed white paper from the National Quality Forum.

Verato covers trending topics about data analytics and interoperablity.

This issue highlights American Heart Association's latest forecasting report that has already received a significant amount of coverage, and our recent policy statements on payment and delivery system reform, the Supplementation Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Active Transportation.   Payment and delivery system reform is a critical part of the ongoing effort to transform our health care system to provide the best prevention, treatment, care, and rehabilitation to our CVD patients. The SNAP policy statement positions the AHA for the first time with Farm Bill reauthorization and state advocacy on the special importance of this program in fighting hunger, while acknowledging that we need to address diet quality and access to healthy foods and beverages for low-income consumers.  Active transportation is an ongoing area of advocacy work at all levels of government where we want to assure people have the opportunity to safely bike, walk, and roll through their communities and to their destinations to be healthy and more physically active. 

Learn How CRM Solutions Can Guide Providers in This New Era of Healthcare!

Most agree that HIE’s have the potential to eliminate redundant and often harmful medical procedures. Some suggest that HIE’s are a critical component for any organization offering valued-based care and pop health services.

Many organizations are attempting to show value by measuring the volume of transactions and some are trying to showing how HIE's can create greater efficiencies from a cost savings perspective. These efforts are likely to fall short of what’s truly needed.

Adopting the rigor of a continuous process improvement approach to measure the value of investments is necessary to ensure continued sustainability of HIE's - at the state and community level. This resource can help provide with the basic building blocks to get started and a roadmap to ensure future success

Pew Charitable Trusts has an infographic on patient matching errors

NEW! eHI Interviews Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, Board of Trustees, American Medical Association (AMA) on the challenges of new technology and opportunities for the new administration to help transform care.

The Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) represents the model by which the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) will coordinate the identification, assessment, and public awareness of interoperability standards and implementation specifications that can be used by the health care industry to address specific interoperability needs including, but not limited to, interoperability for clinical, public health, and research purposes. ONC encourages all stakeholders to implement and use the standards and implementation specifications identified in the ISA as applicable to the specific interoperability needs they seek to address. Furthermore, ONC encourages further pilot testing and industry experience to be sought with respect to standards and implementation specifications identified as “emerging” in the ISA. Stakeholders are encouraged to review the content online and comment to provide feedback to ensure the ISA is as accurate as possible. Visit https://www.healthit.gov/isa/ to view the latest content. For a static version (for contracts, procurement, etc.), the 2017 Reference Edition is also available as PDF file.