Meaningful Use could help reduce health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, according to California legislators.

The members provided recommendations to the administration about integrating disparity reduction opportunities in Stage 3 of the Meaningful Use incentive program and encouraged the administration to look at key tenets of the Consumer Partnership for eHealth’s Disparities Action Plan for guidance.

There is a continuum for engagement, said Christine Bechtel, president of Bechtel Health Advisory Group and advisor for the National Partnership for Women & Families. Patients are enthusiastic about the ability to access their healthcare information and she cited a survey that found patients with such access feel their physician is more trustworthy.

Meanwhile, the National Partnership for Women & Families in a release noted the HITECH Act has greatly improved patients’ access to their health information, allowing many patients to: Access health information within hours or days of a clinical visit or hospital discharge; Contribute to their health records by emailing doctors with corrections or additional data; and View online, download or transmit their own health records.

Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, said in a statement that the widespread use of electronic health records by providers made possible by the HITECH Act’s Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive programs are “helping to facilitate much-needed culture change by empowering patients.”

But much more work remains to fully implement health IT in ways that help our health care system meet the needs of patients, caregivers and providers. We have a responsibility to patients and families to finish the job,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

The HITECH Act, which was included in a larger economic stimulus package, officially created the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the meaningful use program.

Health Information Technology (HIT) policy needs to focus on improving patient medication adherence in order to realize the goals of improving patient health and achieving cost savings in the US health care system, according to an expert panel convened by NEHI (Network for Excellence in Health Innovation) and Prescriptions for a Healthy America.

Consumer Partnership for eHealth offered its assessment of Stage 3, writing, “The Meaningful Use program must incorporate infrastructure and uses of certified EHRs that will reduce health disparities as a measurable health outcome. To this end, we have come together to create an evidence-based action plan for leveraging the EHR Incentive Program to reduce health disparities.

In a release, Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, wrote that DeSalvo has an “impressive ability to bring diverse stakeholders together” and “understands well how to address the challenges associated with building health IT infrastructure in our local communities.”

“DeSalvo’s on-the-ground experience in New Orleans demonstrates her impressive ability to bring diverse stakeholders together. We are confident that she will use those skills to build support for efforts to ensure that health IT is used to achieve the triple aim of better health, better healthcare and lower costs for patients and families,” Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families said in a prepared statement, calling on DeSalvo to prioritize the needs of patients and families within health IT policy.

2013 marked significant growth in the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records, as well as some key changes that could affect the future of the program.

The National Partnership for Women & Families states the extra time associated with announced delay in stage 3 Meaningful Use must be used to advance consumer goals.

“There is no longer a question of whether or not people have a right to information about quality, and that hospitals should be transparent and accountable,” said Debra L. Ness, the president of the National Partnership for Women and Families.

The coalition urged health-care providers to communicate more with their patients and their patients’ families to develop personalized care plans and get patients take a more active role in their health goals, officials with the Consumer Partnership for eHealth said.

The Consumer Partnership for eHealth, which represents advocacy organizations, released its framework for CarePlans 2.0, which the organizations describe as “the next generation” of care plans.