Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Information Technology
April 30, 2020 03:05 PM

Rucker: Interoperability would improve COVID-19 response

Jessica Kim Cohen
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images

    The Trump administration's top health IT official on Thursday said the healthcare industry would be better poised to address the coronavirus pandemic had HHS' recently released interoperability regulations been around earlier, even as the agency delays enforcement.

    "If we'd had this rule several years ago, we'd be in a far, far better spot for … knowing what's going on with this pandemic," Dr. Donald Rucker, chief of HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said during a webinar hosted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

    The fireside chat between Rucker and HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf was part of HIMSS20 Digital, a virtual conference launched after HIMSS had to cancel its annual trade show.

    Rucker said improvements to healthcare interoperability would not only make it easier to gather data related to COVID-19 and how it spreads, but also could have allowed patients to corral their medical data across different sites of care—such as if they're using telemedicine for the first time, or transferred to another facility on account of a patient surge.

    That's why some healthcare stakeholders had advocated against delaying the rule's implementation, in spite of the challenges created by COVID-19. But HHS last week unveiled plans to delay enforcement for some components of the ONC's rule, as well as for a companion interoperability rule issued by the CMS.

    "We're in a pandemic now," Rucker said. "Because of COVID, we had to put a delay of enforcement in."

    Together, the rules from the ONC and the CMS are designed to make it easier for providers, insurers and patients to exchange health data, in large part by requiring providers and insurers to adopt standardized application programming interfaces, better known as APIs.

    APIs are protocols that connect various types of software, such as electronic health record systems and smartphone apps, to one another.

    Rucker reaffirmed his belief that requiring standard APIs in healthcare will spur creation of new apps that provide patients with valuable services, such as price transparency.

    "I believe an entire ecosystem will build out of that," he said. "I think the rules are a starting point."

    A major concern over the rules voiced by provider groups has related to patient privacy. Under the rules, patients would be able to download their health data from providers and insurers using an app of their choice, even though app developers aren't held to privacy standards like HIPAA.

    Rucker said, in "this modern, connected world," consumers are reevaluating how they think about privacy.

    "Don't forget that every time you move one iota with your cell phone, day and night, people know where you are," he said, noting consumers regularly trade that for convenience brought by ride-sharing, banking and even weather apps. "I want to have instant weather at my location," he said.

    Rucker added that technology can be used to safeguard patient data—by enforcing privacy and establishing consent—in addition to sharing information. The ONC has stressed that under its rule patients will be able to authorize which types of data they want to receive through a selected app.

    "The privacy issues in healthcare are still absolutely paramount," Rucker said. But "as a world, we're rethinking exactly what privacy is."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Racial disparity hospital
    Providers confront racial bias engrained in EHRs
    Judy_Faulkner_Epic_HIMSS17_edit_i.jpg
    Epic outlines what's ahead for patient portal, Cosmos
    Most Popular
    1
    UnitedHealth Group to cut Medicare drug plan commissions
    2
    PBM limits could finally pass, if Congress moves its tax-cut bill
    3
    ACOs call on Oz to fix Shared Savings Program benchmarking issue
    4
    Where top executive search firms are seeing changes in demand
    5
    Investors welcome a maturing digital health market
    Sponsored Content
    Digital Health Intelligence Newsletter: Sign up to receive a twice-weekly (T, F) morning newsletter featuring the latest reporting on technologies, trends, players and money fueling the rapid changes in how healthcare is developed, paid for and delivered.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content