As part of its ongoing efforts to improve transition of care through the use of tools like electronic health records, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is planning a pilot project in which several software providers will test a set of information exchange standards.

The agency has identified care transition as one of the primary areas in which the exchange of EHRs can improve quality. During these situations, information is often lost or disregarded, leading to unnecessary testing and improper diagnoses.

Officials told Government Health IT that the new standards are being tested by 10 unnamed technology providers and the results will contribute to the development of information exchange standards as part of the next stage of meaningful use.

"For the first time, we have a single standard for electronic exchange of patient information for care transitions," said Jitin Asnaani, the ONC coordinator of standards and interoperability, according to the news source.

The Society of Hospital Medicine states that poor care transition can lead to decreased patient understanding, medication errors, increased stress on the caregiver, higher readmission rates, and rising care costs.