Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

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HIMSS14: Open Health Presentations at Annual Health IT Conference

As we outlined in our earlier article, "HIMSS14 Annual Conference and Exhibit Opening with Open Source," open source software as well as collaboration and interoperability in health information technology (HIT) has reached break out levels and the HIMSS conference in Orlando, Florida. Below are some of the conference presentations related to open health. Note the large number of presentations the award-winning VistA EHR developed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its derivative RPMS developed by the Indian Health Service (IHS). Read More »

HIT Crowdsourcing Picks Up, VCs Eye Winners

Staff | Government Health IT | February 27, 2012

Health IT codathons, developer challenges, and programming contests are taking on increasing importance as small groups of developers are being encouraged to enter the innovation game. Read More »

HITAC Task Force Comments on ONC HTI-1 NPRM

 

On June 15, 2023, the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing (HTI-1) Proposed Rule Task Force 2023 released its recommendations on the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing (HTI-1) Proposed Rule which proposes new  provisions from the 21st Century Cures Act and makes updates to the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program). The limited-engagement task force met intensely during April, May, and June 2023 to develop its own set of observations and recommendations which were submitted to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

Hospitals Lagging In Assessing Interoperability Needs

Susan D. Hall | FierceHealthIT | October 2, 2012

Though healthcare executives understand the importance of timely electronic exchange of information among care providers, nearly half have yet to fully assess their health information exchange and interoperability needs, according to an ECRI Institute survey. Read More »

How Does FHIR Fit into Recent Interoperability Initiatives?

Sara Heath | Health IT Interoperability | May 18, 2016

Over the past few months, APIs have been the talk of the healthcare industry, pushing HL7's FHIR into the spotlight for interoperability. Plenty of talk supports the position that application programming interfaces (APIs) will enhance health data interoperability, particularly a leading API standard known as FHIR. Health Level 7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (FHIR) is a data standard that helps different health applications work on the different interfaces that exist in the industry (such as an Epic Systems or a Cerner interface)...

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How Does the ONC Define HIE, Value-Based Care, Population Health?

Jennifer Bresnick | HealthIT Analytics | September 29, 2016

The new ONC Health IT Playbook contains a wealth of resources and information for healthcare organizations in various stages of reform. From the very beginning stages of negotiating an EHR purchase to the complex integration of multiple care sites into a risk-based financial arrangement, there’s something for everyone at every level in this interactive, online compendium of knowledge...

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How Fast is Health IT Spreading and What Are the Benefits

Chris Fleming | Health Affairs Blog | March 9, 2012

Adoption of health information technology (IT) throughout the health care system is “on the march,” according to Farzad Mostashari, the national coordinator for health IT. Nearly 2,000 US hospitals and more than 41,000 doctors have now met the standards for achieving meaningful use of health IT, and have received $3.1 billion in federal incentive payments as a result. Read More »

How Is CPOE More Than Cookbook Medicine In The EMR?

Kyle Murphy | EHR Intelligence | July 8, 2013

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is quite adamant about the role of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) in ensuring the delivery of evidence-based, high-quality, and most importantly safe care to patients using EMR and health IT systems. Read More »

Humana Launches Blue Button® Resource That Provides Members Access To Their Medical Information Digitally

Press Release | Humana | October 23, 2013

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), one of the country’s leading health and well-being companies, is taking another step to simplify the ability of members to take charge of their health by providing access to their medical and financial information in digital form in alignment with the Blue Button initiative. Read More »

IBM’s Dr. Watson Is NOT A Meaningful User

Margalit Gur-Arie | HIT Consultant | February 19, 2013

IBM’s Dr. Watson of Jeopardy! fame has finally completed its residency and fellowships and, presumably to its creators’ utter delight, is now a practicing Oncologist. The prodigy “cognitive system” completed its training in less than a year at the illustrious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and although only proficient in lung cancer right now, Dr. Watson’s career as an advisor to oncologists everywhere is off to a great start... Read More »

IEEE Blockchain in Healthcare Event to Premier at HIMSS17

Press Release | IEEE Computer Society | January 12, 2017

Premiering at HIMSS17, IEEE Computer Society's Blockchain in Healthcare, a Rock Stars of Technology Event , co-hosted with the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance), will provide healthcare business and IT professionals the knowledge they need now to protect and secure data, electronic health records, connected devices, and health information exchanges with new blockchain technologies. Blockchain in Healthcare, one of the most controversial technologies of 2017, promises to address security and data integrity issues of the increasing volume of patient data managed by doctors, hospitals and insurance companies...

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Industry Welcomes DeSalvo To ONC

Erin McCann | Government Health IT | December 20, 2013

Karen DeSalvo, MD, current health commissioner of New Orleans, will be taking the ONC reins Jan. 13, replacing acting national coordinator Jacob Reider. She is the first woman to serve in this role. Read More »

Inside The Struggle For Electronic Health Record Interoperability

Greg Otto | FedScoop | August 20, 2014

Over the past few months, stories have popped up chronicling doctors’, clinicians’ or other health care providers’ headaches moving to and/or accessing EHRs. The chorus of complaints has led the Senate Appropriations Committee to submit language in a draft bill that calls for a report from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) on what “the challenges and barriers” are to EHR interoperability.” Read More »

Interoperability: Quick Route To Better Care

Neil Versel | InformationWeek | November 12, 2012

Healthcare quality and efficiency could move forward 20 years in a matter of months if only there were true interoperability of electronic health information, according to a noted critic of the health IT industry. Read More »

Investigating Blockchain's Role in Health Info Exchange

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee | Gov Info Security | February 23, 2017

Federal regulators are considering the role that blockchain technology could play in advancing the secure exchange of healthcare information, says Steve Posnack of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. Blockchain - an open source distributed ledger technology that's associated with the cryptocurrency bitcoin - "has a lot of different potential implementations, and I think its diversity in how it can be implemented is one of the attractive features. It's not just a one-trick pony," he says in an interview at the HIMSS17 conference in Orlando...

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