CHCF VP Karp Testifies on Health IT Data Standards Adoption
September 2007
The Institute of Medicine, in collaboration with the National Research Council, conducted a fast-track study to examine the rate of health care IT data standards adoption and implementation. The standards effort, spearheaded by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), was the subject of a review at a hearing on September 17, 2007 in Washington, D.C.
Sam Karp, vice president of programs for CHCF, was asked to testify on the progress being made by the ONC. While he applauded the ONC for bringing focus to the important role health IT can play in helping improve the nation's fragmented health care system, he criticized the standards effort to date. Karp focused on two key areas: (1) the development and adoption of data standards, and (2) efforts to establish a national framework for safeguarding the privacy of health information.
Karp, a former member of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, contended the national data standards effort had been too slow, too cumbersome, too political, and too heavily influenced by large IT vendors and other institutions. Karp said any data standards should emphasize simplicity, specificity, and minimal optionality, so that consistent implementations, reliable certification testing, and real-world interoperability could be achieved.
On privacy, Karp noted a growing consensus that HIPAA's privacy protections did not adequately safeguard the confidentiality of health data in a digital world. He called for the adoption of uniform privacy standards for any health information exchange activity and for clear accountability and enforcement standards as well as federal leadership in setting policy and practice standards.
The complete testimony is available under Document Downloads below.