Report Advocates Strong Data Infrastructure To Improve Health Care

A new report funded by AHRQ describes interoperability challenges in the U.S. health information technology (IT) system and proposes a potential future state health IT architecture. “A Robust Health Data Infrastructure” includes recommendations for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) as they continue to develop the national vision for an effective and efficient interoperable health ecosystem. The report, a joint effort between AHRQ, ONC and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, comes at a time of intense effort to adopt certified health IT, connect care providers to improve population health, build capacity in the health care system to use health IT for better health and care and support consumer access to health information.