The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT plans to survey clinical laboratories about the extent to which they exchange data with physicians, according to a notice published in the Federal Register, Health Data Management reports.
For its National Survey on Health Information Exchange in Clinical Laboratories, ONC intends to survey more than 2,700 hospital-based clinical labs and about 2,000 independent labs (Goedert, Health Data Management, 10/18).
ONC specifically is looking for information related to:
- The percentage of labs that are able to send structured test results electronically to ordering physicians; and
- The percentage of lab results that currently are being sent electronically in a coded format to ordering physicians (Ouellette, EHR Intelligence, 10/18).
According to the Federal Register notice, ONC will use the survey findings to:
- Determine a baseline level of information exchange for clinical labs; and
- Provide targeted assistance as states and territories develop strategies for the exchange of clinical lab data (Health Data Management, 10/18).