[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":844,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"The American Hospital Association contends that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has not done enough to cut the documentation burdens that clinicians face.

AHA sent a letter<\/a> to CMS on Wednesday with a number of policy recommendations that the hospital group believes the agency should include in its proposed rule for the Calendar Year 2020 physician fee schedule.

\u201cThe time spent documenting patient visits is time that providers cannot spend in face-to-face interaction with patients\u2014negatively impacting patient care and provider well-being,\u201d wrote AHA Executive Vice President Thomas Nickels to CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

\u201cThe patterns of EHR use that result from current documentation requirements are putting providers and patients at risk for real harm,\u201d added Nickels. \u201cWe strongly encourage CMS to explore ways to return the medical record to a tool that captures patients\u2019 dynamic narratives and supports communication between providers.\u201d

While Nickels commended Verma for beginning to make these changes in the CY 2019 physician fee schedule final rule, he made the case that more needs to be done by CMS to make these changes meaningful.

Also See<\/b>: Seema Verma tells docs CMS will reduce EHR documentation burdens<\/a>

Among other recommendations, AHA urged CMS to:

\u00b7 Return the medical record to the dynamic patient narrative it was designed to be and a tool that supports provider-to-provider interaction.

\u00b7 Improve the accuracy and usability of medication lists.

\u00b7 Improve the security, portability and management of patient data by testing the usability of blockchain.

\u201cProviders must spend hours repeatedly sorting through patients\u2019 medications and prescriptions, and inputting that information into medical records, only to have the next provider repeat the task,\u201d according to Nickels. \u201cA more ideal system would utilize cloud-based computing to enable real-time input and updating of medication lists, including the medications that the patient has been prescribed and those he or she actually fills and takes.\u201d

Toward that end, AHA strongly urged CMS to \u201cput in place incentives to encourage or require vendors to improve EHRs\u201d and for the agency to use its \u201cauthority under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to conduct a demonstration to test shifting authority for medication lists to pharmacists.\u201d

When it comes to blockchain, Nickels argued that the technology \u201cwould enable all users of a medical record to see real-time, synced updates, producing a medical record that contains a patient\u2019s entire medical history and that is always up-to-date.\u201d

As a result, AHA wants CMS to \u201cuse its CMMI authority to test the use of blockchain technology to address some of the factors that contribute to providers\u2019 documentation burden, which could be accomplished by including it as an aspect of other demonstrations.\u201d","saveContent":"The American Hospital Association contends that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has not done enough to cut the documentation burdens that clinicians face.

AHA sent a letter<\/a> to CMS on Wednesday with a number of policy recommendations that the hospital group believes the agency should include in its proposed rule for the Calendar Year 2020 physician fee schedule.

\u201cThe time spent documenting patient visits is time that providers cannot spend in face-to-face interaction with patients\u2014negatively impacting patient care and provider well-being,\u201d wrote AHA Executive Vice President Thomas Nickels to CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

\u201cThe patterns of EHR use that result from current documentation requirements are putting providers and patients at risk for real harm,\u201d added Nickels. \u201cWe strongly encourage CMS to explore ways to return the medical record to a tool that captures patients\u2019 dynamic narratives and supports communication between providers.\u201d

While Nickels commended Verma for beginning to make these changes in the CY 2019 physician fee schedule final rule, he made the case that more needs to be done by CMS to make these changes meaningful.

Also See<\/b>: Seema Verma tells docs CMS will reduce EHR documentation burdens<\/a>

Among other recommendations, AHA urged CMS to:

\u00b7 Return the medical record to the dynamic patient narrative it was designed to be and a tool that supports provider-to-provider interaction.

\u00b7 Improve the accuracy and usability of medication lists.

\u00b7 Improve the security, portability and management of patient data by testing the usability of blockchain.

\u201cProviders must spend hours repeatedly sorting through patients\u2019 medications and prescriptions, and inputting that information into medical records, only to have the next provider repeat the task,\u201d according to Nickels. \u201cA more ideal system would utilize cloud-based computing to enable real-time input and updating of medication lists, including the medications that the patient has been prescribed and those he or she actually fills and takes.\u201d

Toward that end, AHA strongly urged CMS to \u201cput in place incentives to encourage or require vendors to improve EHRs\u201d and for the agency to use its \u201cauthority under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to conduct a demonstration to test shifting authority for medication lists to pharmacists.\u201d

When it comes to blockchain, Nickels argued that the technology \u201cwould enable all users of a medical record to see real-time, synced updates, producing a medical record that contains a patient\u2019s entire medical history and that is always up-to-date.\u201d

As a result, AHA wants CMS to \u201cuse its CMMI authority to test the use of blockchain technology to address some of the factors that contribute to providers\u2019 documentation burden, which could be accomplished by including it as an aspect of other demonstrations.\u201d","order":0,"get_parent":{},"attributes":[],"attributesType":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"dynamicContent":""}]

AHA calls on CMS to reduce clinical documentation burden

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