The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking input on how digital healthcare technology could improve care for those receiving Medicare benefits.
In a request for information (RFI) draft posted to the Federal Register, CMS and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ASTP/ONC) have asked for feedback on the digital health marketplace, data interoperability, health technology infrastructure, and future policy needs.
Responses to the RFI are requested within sixty days of the document’s expected May 16 publication date in the Federal Register.
“As the breadth, depth, quality, and timeliness of health data available to patients through standards-based APIs (application programming interfaces) increase, evolving digital health products will gain greater functionality and potential for enhancing the healthcare experience, reducing costs, increasing access to care, enabling chronic disease prevention, and improving healthcare outcomes,” reads the document.
The document adds that CMS and ASTP/ONC want “to build on the existing policy framework to drive large-scale adoption of health management and care navigation applications, reduce barriers to data access and exchange, realize the potential of recent innovations in healthcare that promote better health outcomes, and accelerate progress towards a patient-centric learning health system.”
CMS said that responses to the RFI may shape future policy frameworks related to health data exchange and innovation, among other technical standards, and investment strategies that the agency could take in adopting health technologies.
The RFI adds that the agencies are interested in the use of electronic health record technology and how it can be used to meet policy requirements while reducing provider burden and improving patient care.