CMS Takes Steps Toward Interoperability with Release of Data Element Library

June 28, 2018
Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Practice Management, Health Information Technology (HIT), Practitioners

This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the agency’s first Data Element Library (DEL). The DEL is a new CMS database that supports the exchange of electronic health information. Using this free, centralized resource, the public for the first time can view the specific types of data that CMS requires post-acute care facilities (such as nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals) to collect as part of the health assessment of their patients. These assessments include questions and response options (data elements) about patients, including demographics, medical problems, and other types of health evaluations. Many of these data elements have been standardized, which means that they are the same no matter which type of post-acute care facility is using them.

Healthcare facilities integrate all of this patient information into their medical record systems, and this information is used for multiple purposes such as payment by CMS, quality measurement, and quality improvement. It is important to note that the DEL doesn’t contain any patient-identifiable data whatsoever.

The DEL furthers CMS’ goal of data standardization and interoperability, which is also a goal of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014. The DEL will: 

  • serve as a resource for CMS assessment data elements
  • promote sharing of CMS assessment data sets and health IT standards
  • influence and support industry efforts to promote electronic health records (EHRs) and interoperability

The DEL is viewed as an important step to bringing interoperability to the PALTC sector that has historically lagged behind acute care given that PALTC was not included in the original HITECH funding for meaningful use. The LTPAC HIT Collaborative—members include national associations representing clinicians, providers, information technology developers and researchers with expertise in the long term and post-acute care (LTPAC), including the Society— praised the release of the DEL.

In its response letter to a recent Request for Information on Interoperability, the Collaborative stated: “We have watched the development of CMS’ Data Element Library (DEL) and applaud CMS for making it publicly available as of June 21, 2018. We are pleased to have the DEL as a publicly available, centralized, authoritative resource for standardized data elements and related mappings to health IT standards, which will be referenced on CMS.gov and in the ONC Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA). Importantly, we believe the DEL brings us a step closer to semantic interoperability.”

The Society looks forward to continuing its work with CMS and the Collaborative to improve interoperability and key data sharing initiatives to improve patient care.