Health IT Czar: Five Things You Need to Know

The nation's health IT czar polished off his crystal ball this week and predicted five major health IT trends for the year. Dr. Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health IT, shared the prognostications on his office's Health IT Buzz blog:

• Meaningful use takes off. Mostashari projects that at least 100,000 providers will demonstrate that their electronic health records meet ONC standards for "meaningful use" by the end of the year, enabling them to receive Medicare or Medicaid incentive payments.
• Health information exchanges turn a corner. "ONC efforts are critical," he writes. "Robust policies that protect information and create public trust will galvanize rapid growth and innovation in health information exchange.
• The dots connect between health IT and payment reform. Pay-for-service models lead to higher costs, he argues, just as health IT helps hospitals and practices to move away from traditional pay models. "We are headed toward a virtuous cycle where payment reform improves the business case for using health IT and greater use of health IT improves the chances that new payment models will succeed."
• Consumers take advantage of eHealth resources. Mobile apps and other technological advances make it easier for patients to become more involved in improving their health, Mostashari says.
• Innovation drives improvement. Efforts in 2012 will focus on improving the usability of EHRs, he says.