The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT seeks input on terminology standards and value sets for maternal health information exchange by July 31, 2024. The agency has framed questions to help guide input into the USCDI+ maternal health data set.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
“By harnessing data in electronic health records and other health systems with health IT standards that improve data exchange, we can improve maternal health care delivery, advance research efforts, and shape more effective health policies,” Leonie Misquitta wrote on the HealthITBuzz blog on Thursday.
In 2023, ONC released Maternal Health Records Interoperability: A Best Practices Resource focused on standards that maternal health providers can leverage in health IT as part of prenatal and postpartum care. ONC sought feedback from clinicians, public health leaders, technology developers, researchers, and innovators who play a critical role in shaping the future of maternal health care and improving patient outcomes, advancing research efforts, and developing health policies.
“There is still a need for a standardized approach to collecting and exchanging maternal and newborn health data to ensure consistent data and support comprehensive patient care,” notes Misquitta, program director at the National Library of Medicine.
According to the agency, the USCDI+ Maternal Health dataset reflects partner recommendations for breastfeeding, labor and delivery, postpartum, and intervention data layers, although further feedback is needed.
To review the document and comment, visit the USCDI+ platform website and click on the USCDI+ Maternal Health domain.
THE BIGGER TREND
Standardized data exchange can improve maternal care coordination and planning, according to Evelyn Gallego, CEO and founder of EMI Advisors and a past HIMSS medical board member.
There is a significant opportunity for interoperability use cases like screening and interventions that could help scale up maternal health care, she said. Healthcare IT News last year.
“There are actually existing standards for building,” she said.
ON PROFILE
“Recognizing the need to better define maternal health data needs, ONC collaborated with other federal partners to launch the USCDI+ Maternal Health Domain to establish the data sets needed to support high-quality maternal health care, equitable outcomes, maternal health research, and maternal public health initiatives,” Misquitta wrote.
“The goal of the USCDI+ Maternal Health field is to standardize data collected in a variety of formats and terminology that is critical to health care, research and public health efforts.”
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
