Let me add my 100% agreement to David's post and one cynical thought.
Who benefits by NOT mandating an effective means of communication across different EMR systems? EMR makers, of course, but also the big ACO's and health systems. The absence of cross-communication hands them a big tool to keep referrals and orders within the system, since everybody inside the system is likely to use the same EMR. Going outside the system will be more difficult and discouraged. If I were an ACO exec, I would be delighted with a situation where all my docs are using the same EMR system, incompatible with the system down the block.
The government is looking to encourage integrated ACO's, and the government is responsible for promulgating EMR regs and specifications. Hmm.
Michael J.
