The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is seeking input on terminology standards and value sets for the exchange of maternal health information by July 31, 2024. The agency has developed questions to help guide input on the USCDI+ maternal health dataset.
WHY IT MATTERS
By leveraging data in electronic health records and other health care systems with health IT standards that improve data sharing, “we can improve the delivery of maternal care, boost research efforts, and shape more effective health policies,” Leonie Misquitta wrote Thursday on HealthITBuzz blogging.
In 2023, ONC released the Interoperability of maternity care data: best practice information sources focused on standards that maternal health care providers could leverage in health IT as part of peri- and postnatal care. ONC seeks feedback from clinicians, public health leaders, technology developers, researchers and innovators who are critical to shaping the future of maternal health care and improving patient outcomes, advancing research efforts and developing health policy.
“There is still a need for a standardized approach to collecting and sharing maternal and child health data to ensure data is consistent and supports holistic patient care,” noted Misquitta, program director at the National Library of Medicine , on.
According to the agency, the USCDI+ Maternal Health dataset reflects suggestions from partners on data classes for lactation, delivery, postpartum period and interventions, although more feedback is needed.
To view and comment on documents, go to the USCDI+ Platform Website and click on the USCDI+ Maternal Health domain.
THE BIG TREND
According to Evelyn Gallego, CEO and founder of EMI Advisors and a former member of the HIMSS Social Determinants of Health Committee, standardized data sharing can improve coordination and planning of maternal care.
There is a significant opportunity for interoperability applications such as screenings and interventions that can help scale up maternal health care, she said. Healthcare IT News last year.
“There are indeed existing standards to build on,” she said.
ON THE RECORD
“Recognizing the need to further specify maternal health data needs, ONC, in collaboration with other federal partners, has launched the USCDI+ Maternal Health domain to collect the datasets needed to support quality maternal care , equitable outcomes, maternal health research, and maternal health initiatives,” Misquitta wrote.
“The USCDI+ Maternal Health domain aims to standardize data collected in various formats and vocabularies that are critical to healthcare, research, and public health efforts.”
Andrea Fox is editor-in-chief of Healthcare IT News.
Email address: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.