Are Feds The Answer?

The federal government should develop patient-authentication standards and offer health-care providers financial incentives to adopt electronic medical records, according to the latest report to make a run at these long-standing issues. It also recommends the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services support a public-private group to certify that health-IT products meet interoperability standards.

The report, from the federal Commission on System Interoperability, which Congress created in modernizing Medicare, offers recommendations for implementing a nationwide network for the exchange of electronic health information.