The AAMC submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Feb. 1 in response to an interim final rule requiring hospitals to report influenza-related data during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). The AAMC commented that hospital reporting of influenza cases during the PHE is not needed because the federal government collects this data through other avenues, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the letter, the AAMC agreed that data collection is important and supports the Biden administration’s efforts to bolster data systems and transparency for vaccinations. It also noted that there continues to be a lack of transparency in how the COVID-19-related data is being used and urged the administration to increase transparency on why this data is being collected and how it is being used.
Additionally, the AAMC asked CMS to engage with stakeholders before undertaking future data collection to ensure that the collected data is meaningful and can be fully utilized.