HHS tailors EHRs for children

Electronic health record (EHR) systems should be enhanced to deal with the needs of people such as children and victims of domestic violence, officials said June 4 at a meeting of a Health and Human Services Department advisory workgroup.

For pediatrics patients, HHS is developing a model EHR with features tailored for their health needs, speakers said. For example, a pediatric record system is likely to have growth charts and vaccination charts. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) along with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are creating the pediatric record template for children enrolled in Medicaid or in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Dr. Carolyn Clancy, AHRQ's director, said at a meeting of the HHS Health IT Policy Committee's meaningful use workgroup. The workgroup is advising the HHS National Coordinator for Health IT on distributing $17 billion in economic stimulus funds to providers who buy and "meaningfully use" EHR systems.