Since April 2021, federal rules requiring physicians to give patients prompt access to their electronic health information (EHI) have been focused on a narrow subset of those data. Starting Oct. 6, however, the so-called information-blocking requirements are set to broaden that scope significantly.

Since April 2021, federal rules requiring physicians to give patients prompt access to their electronic health information (EHI) have been focused on a narrow subset of those data. Starting Oct. 6, however, the so-called information-blocking requirements are set to broaden that scope significantly.

A Key FHIR Bill Passed in the House: The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act just passed by the House establishes an electronic prior authorization process to streamline approval of requests and create a process for “real-time decisions” for services that are routinely approved.

Fortunately, the HL7 Da Vinci FHIR Accelerator project has been working on FHIR-based standards for the prior authorization process that meet these requirements since 2018. Implementations of these standards are now being tested in FHIR Connectathons and real-world pilot projects. This is just one example of how a modern healthcare standard like FHIR can enable not just the exchange of healthcare data but the modernization of healthcare processes.

“Talk to a Doctor Now:” A look on how drug makers are cashing in on telehealth

Making medications more accessible to support desirable therapeutic outcomes and adherence has been a long-standing goal of both Pharma and providers. However, leveraging technology, especially ad hoc or on-demand virtual care visits for this purpose is controversial on several levels. STAT reporting highlights both the potential benefits and the questions about this practice.

Green Room Technology CTO Darrell Woelk presented an update on how the HL7 FHIR API is changing healthcare at the July Lunch & Learn of Austin chapter of HIMSS.

Highlights from the HIMSS New York State Chapter panel discussion held April 20, 2022 on how data interoperability using the HL7 FHIR standard will lead to improving patient outcomes.