SAN FRANCISCO, February 29, 2016 – McKesson today formally pledged to support government and industry efforts to advance patient-centered interoperability among health information systems. McKesson’s pledge statement, referenced by Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Silvia Burwell at the HIMSS 2016 keynote address and on the HHS website, can be found in its entirety below:
“At McKesson, we believe that all patients have a fundamental right to easily and securely access their health information and to empower their healthcare providers to do the same. Relevant health information about a person should be available electronically, with the proper consent, to all key stakeholders, including the individual himself/herself, providers and relevant care team members, regardless of setting of care, geographic location or technology.
We applaud the Office of the National Coordinator for recognizing that important work is already underway in this area, and that achieving true patient-centered interoperability will be best achieved not through government regulation, but through a shared private-sector commitment.
Toward that end, we commit to the following principles to advance interoperability among health information systems:
- Consumer access: To help consumers easily and securely access their electronic health information, direct it to any desired location, learn how their information can be shared and used, and be assured that this information will be effectively and safely used to benefit their health and that of their community.
- No Blocking/Transparency: To help providers share individuals’ health information for care with other providers and their patients whenever permitted by law, and not block electronic health information (defined as knowingly and unreasonably interfering with information sharing).
- Standards: Implement federally recognized, national interoperability standards, policies, guidance, and practices for electronic health information, and adopt best practices including those related to privacy and security.
McKesson has been providing patients access to their health records through RelayHealth since 1999 and has made that capability available for download in structured formats since 2009. We currently provide more than 84 Million patients and 18,000 practices access to BlueButton download capabilities and won the VA BlueButton challenge in 2011 by rolling out BlueButton capabilities to more than 25,000 providers across the Country.
As a founding member of CommonWell Health Alliance, we are committed to adopting and implementing nationally recognized interoperability standards, policies, and practices for electronic health information exchange, and to adopt best practices including those related to privacy and security.
CommonWell Health Alliance has 40+ members, representing 72% of the acute care EHR market and 34% of the ambulatory care EHR market as well as health IT market leaders and technology innovators in imaging, post-acute care, laboratory, retail pharmacy, oncology, population health, emergency services and more. CommonWell is tracking towards deploying services across 5000+ provider sites all 50 states.
Additionally, McKesson sponsored Project Argonaut to advance industry adoption of modern, open interoperability standards, to develop a first-generation API and Core Data Services specification to enable expanded information sharing for electronic health records, documents, and other health information based on the FHIR specification.
Healthcare in the U.S. is rapidly moving away from a paper-based, fee-for-service system to an electronic, value-based system. The exchange of health information with access to the right patient data at the right time will help accelerate this and improve efficiency and quality of care.”
About McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 11th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.McKesson.com.