ONC seeks input on EHR metadata

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has released an advance on a proposed rule about the use of existing metadata standards to support electronic health information exchange and to get feedback on the experience from various organizations that may have applied them. ONC is considering inclusion of certain metadata standards in Stage 2 of meaningful use. The use of metadata, or elements that describe data, is considered key to fueling more complex health information exchange. The advance notice of proposed rulemaking offers ONC's first draft views on the adoption of metadata standards, using the scenario where a patient obtains a summary care record from a provider's electronic health record or requests for it to be transmitted to their personal health record.