CMS Releases Pilot Program for Data Interoperability

A new API pilot program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will allow clinicians to access beneficiary claims data, supporting interoperability between providers.

The program, called Data at the Point of Care, was launched in extension to the White House’s May 2018 MyHealthEData Initiative to empower patients and health care providers with improved access to claims data.

The program follows ongoing efforts by the agency to modernize the health care system and prevent pervasive health information silos that pose unnecessary risks and costs for patients.

“Technology, coupled with open data sharing, is how we will improve value, control costs and keep patients healthy while ensuring a solvent Medicare program for generations to come,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in an agency press release.

Granting clinicians access to beneficiary claims data will allow for a more holistic view of a patient’s medical history, according to CMS, and may close potential gaps regarding a patient’s past medications and treatments and medication adherence. It may also reduce time spent on clinician documentation processes, and in turn, increase time spent with patients, as the data will be conveniently available in one central location.

Medicare beneficiary data for the DPC program is provided through data from Medicare’s Blue Button 2.0 initiative, electronic health records, third-party applications and APIs using Health Level 7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (HL7 FHIR) standard.

More than 2,000 developers have already used synthetic data from Blue Button 2.0, while 28 organizations are in the process of creating applications for beneficiaries to access their personal health data, according to CMS.