Interoperable Electronic Healthcare Record: A Case for Adoption of a National Standard to Stem the Ongoing Healthcare Crisis

Abstract:     
Interoperable electronic health records (EHR) have the capacity to deliver health care at optimal costs and quality in the United States, but current private and public initiatives have delayed nationwide implementation by failing to overcome several obstacles. These obstacles include: widespread reluctance in adopting health information technology (HIT); differing technical and semantic standards for communication between vendor systems; and legal challenges, which are mainly based on liability, privacy, and security concerns. This paper examines these challenges and the inadequacies of current HIT-EHR implementation strategies, questioning in particular the validity of privacy and security-based concerns. A comparison with the U.S. finance industry and other nations facing similar challenges not only undermine these concerns, but also point to pursuit of revolutionary solutions when traditional approaches fail. To efficiently and effectively facilitate the development of interoperable EHRs and help stem the crisis of rising costs and discontent in the U.S. healthcare sector, this paper proposes enactment of federal legislation mandating uniform technical standards to maintain and transfer health records as a necessary first step and integral part of a successful solution.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 49

Accepted Paper Series