Implementing an EHR system can have many benefits for practices, but most experts agree that the real improvements in care quality will only happen when more doctors are using the technology to exchange patient data. For this reason, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is widely expected to include extensive requirements for data exchange in stage 2 of meaningful use.

Farzad Mostashari, the national coordinator for health IT, said at a recent meeting of the Health IT Standards Committee that the office is moving ahead with an aggressive approach to information exchange requirements because exchange is key to solving some of the greatest challenges facing healthcare today, according to Government Health IT.

"My request to you is to push. There is a sense in which not moving on anything is a greater risk than moving forward on something that may be imperfect," Mostashari told the news source. "We can’t afford to wait another five years before we have exchange in this country."

In recent months, the ONC has discussed metadata standards that could facilitate the creation of a nationwide, interoperable health information exchange. While some critics including the American Hospital Association have voiced concerns that the federal agency is rushing the timeline, Mostashari's comments suggest he is not interested in slowing down.