10 Jun Health Data News Roundup: Former ONC Officials and Interoperability Rule; AMA and Data Privacy; and a New Model of Interactive Health Insurance

Welcome to the Health Data Weekly News Roundup from IMAT Solutions. As the power of data continues to grow in the healthcare arena, today’s care organizations need to be on the forefront of all news and trends to help ensure that their data analytics efforts deliver accountable and informed care. Each week, we will provide you with the actionable news you need to meet these goals.

Former ONC Officials Strongly Support Proposed Interoperability Rule
Former National Coordinators recently penned a letter to current National Coordinator Donald Rucker, MD, and CMS Administrator Seema Verma stating their approval of the proposed rules and their expectation that TEFCA will help to advance interoperability industry-wide.

AMIA: CMS is ‘Too Aggressive’ on API Timeline for Health Plans
The American Medical Informatics Association is warning the federal government to go slow in requiring federally funded health plans to use open application programming interfaces.

AMA Calls for More Data Privacy in Proposed Health IT Rules
The American Medical Association (AMA) is calling on CMS and ONC to implement stricter data privacy controls in their health IT proposals.

UnitedHealth Group: Financial Rewards Tied to Wellness Program, Beneficiary Engagement
Integrating financial rewards and social activities into wellness programs will make them more attractive to participants, ultimately improving beneficiary engagement, according to a recent survey from the UnitedHealth Group.

Cerner App Challenge Seeks Ways to Boost Patient Access to EHRs
Cerner Corporation recently announced the launch of its 2019 code App Challenge, which prompts developers to innovate new ways to help patients easily access and understand their own EHR data.

AHRQ Awards Grant to U of Iowa to Research Health Data Exchange
A team of researchers spearheaded by faculty at the University of Iowa College of Public Health recently earned a research grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to analyze patterns of health data exchange between providers.

A New Model of Interactive Health Insurance is on the Horizon
More than 60 percent of US consumers are interested in sharing personal information collected by devices as part of health insurance rewards programs, paving the way US payers to deploy new models of health insurance coverage.