In recent years the federal government has used financial incentives and penalties to promote use of electronic health records (EHR), but in these regulations the issue of EHR data interoperability — that is, data standardization — has been left largely unresolved, dimming prospects for data exchange, population health surveillance and systematic improvement across health networks.

On the evening of Nov. 16, in Washington, D.C., William Stead, M.D., associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and chief strategy officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, received a welcome surprise. The setting was the National Press Club and the occasion was the annual leadership dinner of the American Medical Informatics Association, where the field’s top awards are presented.