August 2003

HHS launches new efforts for paperless healthcare system

You and your patients are two steps closer to being able to access patient records on demand. In announcing the two steps toward developing the National Health Information Infrastructure, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said these efforts will lead to reduced medical errors, improved patient care, and reduced health care costs.

The first step, said Thompson, is an agreement between the HHS and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) to license the College's standardized medical vocabulary system and make it available without charge throughout the United States. This action opens the door to establishing a common medical language as a key element in building a unified electronic medical records system.

The second step, he said, is that HHS has commissioned the Institute of Medicine to design a standardized model of an electronic health record. The health care standards development organization known as HL7 has been asked to evaluate the model once it has been designed. HHS will share the standardized model record at no cost with all components of the U.S. health care system. The Department expects to have a model record ready in 2004.

With terms for more than 340,000 medical concepts, the College's standardized system has been recognized as the world's most comprehensive clinical terminology database available. The licensing agreement with the CAP will make it possible for healthcare providers, hospitals, insurance companies, public health departments, medical research facilities and others to easily incorporate this uniform terminology system into their information systems.

Source: Health and Human Services (www.hhs.gov)

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