[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":570,"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":"Standards-based application programming interfaces, the way that computers \u201ctalk\u201d to each other, are the technological enablers that will ensure consumer access to electronic health information.That\u2019s the vision of National Coordinator for Health IT Don Rucker, MD, who sees APIs as driving consumer empowerment in healthcare by enabling patients to share their data with third party API-based apps.\u201cThat fundamental realignment based on APIs has transformed our financial, travel and entertainment industries,\u201d said Rucker on Wednesday at ONC\u2019s Interoperability Forum in Washington, who described the app economy. \u201cWe think this is happening in healthcare.\u201d

Also See<\/b>: National Coordinator for HIT gives country C- grade on interoperability<\/a>In particular, Rucker contends that the consumer app economy in healthcare will \u201chold us as providers accountable for levels of service and innovation that we haven\u2019t had\u201d in the past. \u201cAll of this brave new world is predicated, frankly, on the right of the patient to get their data about their body,\u201d according to Rucker. \u201cWe have not had that right.\u201dDespite the individual right to access health information about themselves established by HIPAA, patients often lack access to their own data, which hinders their ability to manage their healthcare and shop for medical services at lower prices, Rucker pointed out.However, he noted that ONC has issued a proposed rule requiring providers to offer patients\u2019 access to their electronic health information through secure APIs. \u201cWe are very serious collectively\u2014you\u2019ve seen the CMS rule as well\u2014in getting the American public to have the benefits of interoperability on their smartphone,\u201d Rucker added. \u201cYou will have the right to select an app and\u2014using the OAuth 2.0 security protocol\u2014bring it to a provider (FHIR) end point and download your data. It\u2019s important to understand what that means. It means you have to choose the app. You have to bring the app (to the provider).\u201dAs the healthcare industry joins America\u2019s app economy, Rucker contends that most patients will be as protective of their medical data as they are of their banking information. Still, ONC is warning about the inherent risks of sharing data with third party API-based apps that may put health information at risk from inappropriate secondary uses and disclosures.\u201cWe\u2019re working with a number of folks on better ways of doing consent,\u201d Rucker added. \u201cThere\u2019s a very complicated, delicate balancing act on how do we protect the consumers\u2019 right of access with protections around privacy.\u201d While Rucker acknowledged that provider adoption of electronic health records was \u201ca bit of a tortured past\u201d for the industry, he observed that EHRs are \u201cpretty much everywhere now,\u201d and a \u201cglobal wave of computer science that is transforming every industry will increasingly transform healthcare.\u201dRucker made the case that \u201cyou can\u2019t have modern computing, AI and machine learning without big data, and so far, we haven\u2019t had the infrastructure to do that.\u201d At the same time, Rucker said EHRs must be transformed into \u201cmore powerful, understandable and actionable\u201d platforms that get away from their limited origins as mere \u201cbilling tools\u201d and embrace automation, while pointing out that healthcare is the only industry in which computers have actually resulted in \u201cmore work for ourselves\u201d and inefficiency.\u201cWe are in extremely exciting times in healthcare\u2014I have to say it\u2019s disappointed me a little that it\u2019s taken so long,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI do believe that exponential growth is finally coming. Good things happen to those who wait. I think we have extraordinary abilities and opportunities to make healthcare efficient.\u201d","saveContent":"Standards-based application programming interfaces, the way that computers \u201ctalk\u201d to each other, are the technological enablers that will ensure consumer access to electronic health information.That\u2019s the vision of National Coordinator for Health IT Don Rucker, MD, who sees APIs as driving consumer empowerment in healthcare by enabling patients to share their data with third party API-based apps.\u201cThat fundamental realignment based on APIs has transformed our financial, travel and entertainment industries,\u201d said Rucker on Wednesday at ONC\u2019s Interoperability Forum in Washington, who described the app economy. \u201cWe think this is happening in healthcare.\u201dAlso See<\/b>: National Coordinator for HIT gives country C- grade on interoperability<\/a>In particular, Rucker contends that the consumer app economy in healthcare will \u201chold us as providers accountable for levels of service and innovation that we haven\u2019t had\u201d in the past. \u201cAll of this brave new world is predicated, frankly, on the right of the patient to get their data about their body,\u201d according to Rucker. \u201cWe have not had that right.\u201dDespite the individual right to access health information about themselves established by HIPAA, patients often lack access to their own data, which hinders their ability to manage their healthcare and shop for medical services at lower prices, Rucker pointed out.However, he noted that ONC has issued a proposed rule requiring providers to offer patients\u2019 access to their electronic health information through secure APIs. \u201cWe are very serious collectively\u2014you\u2019ve seen the CMS rule as well\u2014in getting the American public to have the benefits of interoperability on their smartphone,\u201d Rucker added. \u201cYou will have the right to select an app and\u2014using the OAuth 2.0 security protocol\u2014bring it to a provider (FHIR) end point and download your data. It\u2019s important to understand what that means. It means you have to choose the app. You have to bring the app (to the provider).\u201dAs the healthcare industry joins America\u2019s app economy, Rucker contends that most patients will be as protective of their medical data as they are of their banking information. Still, ONC is warning about the inherent risks of sharing data with third party API-based apps that may put health information at risk from inappropriate secondary uses and disclosures.\u201cWe\u2019re working with a number of folks on better ways of doing consent,\u201d Rucker added. \u201cThere\u2019s a very complicated, delicate balancing act on how do we protect the consumers\u2019 right of access with protections around privacy.\u201d While Rucker acknowledged that provider adoption of electronic health records was \u201ca bit of a tortured past\u201d for the industry, he observed that EHRs are \u201cpretty much everywhere now,\u201d and a \u201cglobal wave of computer science that is transforming every industry will increasingly transform healthcare.\u201dRucker made the case that \u201cyou can\u2019t have modern computing, AI and machine learning without big data, and so far, we haven\u2019t had the infrastructure to do that.\u201d At the same time, Rucker said EHRs must be transformed into \u201cmore powerful, understandable and actionable\u201d platforms that get away from their limited origins as mere \u201cbilling tools\u201d and embrace automation, while pointing out that healthcare is the only industry in which computers have actually resulted in \u201cmore work for ourselves\u201d and inefficiency.\u201cWe are in extremely exciting times in healthcare\u2014I have to say it\u2019s disappointed me a little that it\u2019s taken so long,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI do believe that exponential growth is finally coming. Good things happen to those who wait. I think we have extraordinary abilities and opportunities to make healthcare efficient.\u201d","order":0,"get_parent":{},"attributes":[],"attributesType":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"dynamicContent":""}]

Rucker: APIs will empower consumers, transform healthcare

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