This week, the College of Health Information Management Executives (CHIME) hosted a Public Policy Forum on Capitol Hill to discuss health information technology (HIT), and accountable care organizations and Stage 2 Meaningful Use. CIOs from leading health systems participated on panel discussions titled “Delivery System Reform & the Role of Health IT” and “Hospital Readiness in Attesting for Meaningful Use Stage 2.”

Panelists participating in the event addressed some of their greatest challenges in adopting HIT to advance delivery system reforms, including challenges in accurately identifying patients, as well as issues with producing meaningful and actionable information from the large amounts of data facing healthcare providers today. The CIOs discussed ways in which their health systems are using technology to enhance patient engagement and accountability for their own health, including the use of patient portals and mobile technology.

Last month, six Republic Senators released a report titled “Reboot: Re-examining the Strategies Needed to Successfully Adopt Health IT,” highlighting their concerns with HIT, and related federal policies. This week, in response to the report, CHIME urged for an extension of Stage 2 Meaningful Use in a letter to those Republican Senators. At the Public Policy Forum, CHIME CEO Robert Branzell explained that CHIME’s request for an extension would allow stakeholders to analyze the impact and benefits of HIT. When panelists were asked about their support for such an extension, they underscored the importance of evaluating the current state of HIT and its benefits before pushing to the next frontier, stressing the importance of maintaining momentum while effectively analyzing what has already been done.