Trump Administration Promotes Patient Ownership of Health Data

The White House and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are promoting a move toward greater patient ownership of their own medical records—which would also bolster interoperability among providers, they say. If the MyHealthEData initiative is successful, its proponents say it could help save some of the 400,000 lives lost annually because providers don’t have timely access to a patient’s complete medical history. CMS Director Seema Verma framed the plan in the context of her agency’s commitment to value-based care while promising an overhaul to the Meaningful Use program for EHRs and an overall updating of the agency’s guidelines to better align with a digital world. She pointed out that the inability to share data across health systems too often lead to patients’ frustration and, worse, provider inefficiency. At the same time, giving patients greater access to their own health records encourages higher levels of health literacy and the ability to make informed decisions about care. MyHealthEData would allow open access for patients on the device of their choice. In addition, according to Verma, Medicare documentation and management codes would be updated and streamlined so doctors could spend less time with their EHRs and more time with patients.