It is possible, however, "to implement the new exchange architecture in an incremental fashion," according to the final report of the PCAST Workgroup, which includes members of the advisory HIT Policy and Standards Committees.
But for now, end-to-end implementation of a new way to exchange health data may be ahead of its time. The presidential advisors in their recommendation made last December noted that universal exchange languages that use "metadata tags" to describe attributes or security protections of individual pieces of data are common in many industries.
But how the advisors envision use of a universal exchange language in health care just isn't seen elsewhere, according to the PCAST Workgroup. "We are unaware of any real-world environments (either in healthcare or other sectors) where the combinations of technologies envisioned for the end-state have been placed into operation."
The workgroup does recommend establishing a new exchange architecture with a universal exchange language and interlinked search capabilities, coupled with privacy and security safeguards. But the PCAST recommendations from December are difficult to reconcile without operational examples and concrete plans, and there is an absence of stakeholder consensus about the recommended approach, according to the workgroup.
Consequently, the workgroup recommends two alternatives to start incorporating PCAST recommendations in Stage 2 of meaningful use:
* Stage 2 criteria could contain metrics for the use and promotion of patient portals, providing patients with access to their health information and the option to obtain an electronic copy of their data using tagged data elements.
* The Office of the National Coordinator could use Stage 2 EHR certification criteria to identify metadata standards for other specific Stage 2 transactions.
"For each of these two alternatives, the workgroup, which includes members of the HIT Standards Committee, believes that the necessary technical decisions can be made with sufficient time to be tested and included in Stage 2 of meaningful use," according to the workgroup.
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