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The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released the 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, which provides a roadmap for the future. The plan envisions that technology and health information will significantly improve the well-being of individuals and communities. It aligns with the core mission of the healthcare CIO to use technology to engage individuals, reduce costs, deliver high-quality care and improve population health. The plan sets a clear direction for future healthcare IT initiatives around four main goals. Is this enough to drive future progress in the industry?
Promote health and wellness
The strategic plan places a strong emphasis on empowering individuals to manage their health, enhancing the delivery and experience of care, and accelerating research and innovation. According to a new report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, most U.S. healthcare provider organizations have electronic medical record systems, which is a starting point because they all have a patient portal that allows individuals to easily manage their health conditions .
As the healthcare industry goes digital, achieving interoperability between different systems remains a challenge. EMR vendors have successfully ensured interoperability within organizations using the same systems. However, this issue has been an obstacle in the last strategic plan.
Strengthen nursing services
Improving the delivery and experience of care is critical as provider organizations aim to facilitate easy access to care in the digital age. Patients now expect seamless and efficient interactions with healthcare providers through technologies such as virtual care, two-way messaging and self-service scheduling capabilities. Our goal is to exceed these expectations by deploying intuitive technology that streamlines the process for patients and providers, thereby improving outcomes and satisfaction.
The plan reaffirms the commitment to using IT to advance health and wellness and recognizes the role of technology in empowering patients and communities. However, digital gaps and differences in technology access and literacy hinder the scope and impact of these efforts. Addressing these disparities is critical to equitably distribute health IT benefits and ensure everyone has the tools and knowledge they need to manage their health. Health education is greatly needed, especially for those with poor health who require extensive care. Despite the importance of preventive care and its heavy reliance on education, provider organizations currently receive limited reimbursement for these services.
Accelerate research and innovation
This goal emphasizes that researchers and health IT users should actively access health data to promote improvements in individual and population health. Health IT prioritizes enhanced research and analysis at the individual and population levels. Notably, incorporating data from underrepresented groups into research efforts is an important strategy to proactively promote health equity. This goal emphasizes the goal of using health information technology to achieve more inclusive health improvements and research outcomes, and demonstrates a commitment to using technology to benefit all.
Link health data
This goal emphasizes the importance of developing policies and technical components to meet the diverse data needs of health IT users, aiming to ensure that regulatory constraints, privacy concerns, and technical limitations of current health IT infrastructure do not hinder the pace of innovation.
The draft Federal Health IT Strategy 2024-2030 plan recognizes health IT as a catalyst for significant improvements in health care, highlighting areas that require more attention. It underscores the importance of collaboration among federal agencies, health care providers, technology companies and patient advocacy groups to address these challenges. The 60-day comment period will end on May 28, 2024, allowing for feedback to enrich the program with new initiatives and requirements designed to accelerate progress in the health IT field.
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