ASTM Standard E2369 Included in Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act

Continuity of Care Record Standard Becomes Part of U.S. Policy for Health Information Technology

ASTM Standard E2369 Included in Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act

An ASTM International standard used for effective and timely electronic messaging of healthcare records has now been adopted as a standard for a structured summary health record exchange included in new regulations associated with the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

ASTM E2369, Specification for Continuity of Care Record (CCR), was included as a patient summary record standard in the interim final rule, document 45 CFR Part 170 RIN 0991-AB58, published Dec. 30, 2009. ASTM E2369 is now part of the formal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services certification criteria for electronic health record technologies.

"The inclusion of ASTM E2369 in the interim final rule marks the passage of a major milestone in the development, maintenance and, most importantly, health IT industry use of E2369," says Dr. David C. Kibbe, senior adviser, American Academy of Family Physicians and chair of ASTM Committee E31 on Healthcare Informatics.

The CCR, developed by Subcommittee E31.25 on Healthcare Data Management, Security, Confidentiality and Privacy, presents a way to create flexible XML documents that contain the most relevant and timely healthcare information about a patient and to send these records electronically from one caregiver to another and to patients with the goal of creating better coordination and quality of care.