Health IT vendors slammed for hampering the exchange of patient data

Fred O'Connor | Computerworld | April 12, 2014

Electronic health records vendors make the process of sharing patient information too expensive and complicated for hospitals and doctors, a problem that affects the quality and cost of care. That's the conclusion reached by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the U.S. government agency that oversees the country's health IT efforts.

In a report released Friday, the ONC outlined challenges that health care providers face as they attempt to exchange patient data. Among the issues identified: Health IT vendors charge high fees to set up interfaces for hospitals and labs to share patient data. They also force customers to use proprietary technology and refuse to publish APIs (application programming interfaces).

Sharing health data electronically is essential if technology is going to be used to deliver better and more affordable care, the ONC said in a blog post. "Information blocking" by IT vendors hinders this process, the ONC said. The agency didn't call out specific companies.