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Go back to First Page %u2022 Harris County Physician Newsletter %u2022 October 2025 %u2022 www.hcms.org 7 TMA calls on Federal Agencies to reduce physicians%u2019 tech burdens Answering a federal call for input, the Texas Medical Association (TMA) called for comprehensive changes to the nation%u2019s health technology infrastructure, including solutions for the%u00a058% of Texas physicians%u00a0negatively impacted by electronic health record (EHR) usability issues.%u00a0 %u00a0The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP)/the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)%u00a0began seeking public comment%u00a0in May to inform their ongoing efforts in advancing data exchange among payers, healthcare practices, and patients, the agencies say.%u00a0 In response, TMA submitted%u00a0several recommendations%u00a0calling for widespread improvements across health information technology (HIT), including those that:%u00a0%u2022 Promote strong interoperability standards;%u2022 Simplify data entry requirements to reduce physicians%u2019 administrative burden;%u00a0%u00a0%u2022 Address growing technology requirements placed upon small and rural practices; and%u00a0%u2022 Improve EHRs and other digital tools to make them more user-friendly.%u00a0Optimizing the EHR%u00a0 TMA expressed frustration that EHR usability remains inconsistent%u00a0for physicians and often fails to streamline care as intended, increasing physicians%u2019 workload and impacting patient care as a result.%u00a0 TMA recommended CMS and ASTP/ONC work to enhance EHRs by supporting the development of systems that feature interfaces and tools aimed at decreasing physicians%u2019 screen time. Moreover, TMA called on CMS to require EHRs to track and report the amount of time physicians spend on inbox management, recognizing that physicians should be compensated for extra work.%u00a0TMA also recommended the federal agencies improve physicians%u2019 electronic workflow by:%u00a0%u2022 Developing a standardized, consumer-controlled personal health record that can collect and organize data from CMS, physician practices, healthcare organizations, payers, and third-party apps;%u2022 Creating separate campaigns to promote digital health products that can interface with EHRs, rather than holding physicians responsible or liable for recommending those products to their patients;%u2022 Removing the burden of ever-changing and %u201cinsufficiently tested%u201d quality improvement requirements, which often create additional complexities that detract from patient care and safety; and%u00a0%u2022 Reviving the national Health IT Extension Program to support rural and small practices in implementing and maintaining certified HIT.%u00a0Improving interoperability TMA stressed that interoperability efforts aiming to improve care efficiency have done the opposite: Rather than having information network standards in place to focus the flow of incoming data on what%u2019s needed, relevant, and appropriate at the point of care, physicians are left responsible for making sense of all incoming data.%u00a0 To ensure health care data remains appropriate and easily accessible for physician practices, TMA called on CMS and ASTP/ONC to support a universal standard for exchanging health information. Clinical decision support tools in EHRs rely on data encoding to function. Only 24% of Texas physicians find those tools helpful, with many citing irrelevant information and alert fatigue as issues, per%u00a0TMA%u2019s 2025 HIT Survey (https://bit.ly/TMA_TechTrends).%u00a0%u00a0 Furthermore, TMA asked CMS and ASTP/ONC to develop standardized pathways to report technology issues and opportunities for improvement, especially if patient safety is at risk. TMA added that CMS should consider requiring certified technology vendors to create such pathways with minimal effort placed on the physician.%u00a0%u00a0 TMA also pressed CMS and ASTP/ONC to follow%u00a0Texas%u2019 hard-won example%u00a0and authorize an exception to the immediate release of certain sensitive tests %u2013 like a cancer diagnosis %u2013 to allow clinicians at least three business days to relay the results to the patient. Additionally, TMA stated that certified EHR products should have a standardized way for physicians to hold test results, so those results are not automatically pushed to the portal when received by the practice.%u00a0 For a comprehensive look into TMA%u2019s ongoing federal advocacy efforts, see the%u00a0association%u2019s comment letters (https://www.texmed.org/TMACommentLetters/). Source: TMA by Alisa Pierce