Consumer Health IT Summit - Government As Catalyst

Kicking off National Health IT Week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in conjunction with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) hosted the second Consumer Health IT Summit on Monday, September 10, 2012. The Summit was geared towards individuals who are trying to advance consumer access to health information and brought together government leaders with leaders in the private and non-profit sectors. It was a great event and certainly brought into focus the critical importance of patients being involved in their care and having access and control of their own health data.

Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health IT, ONC, and Lygeia Ricciardi, Acting Director, Office of Consumer eHealth, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS, discussed some their strategies for engaging customers. Lygeia highlighted three primary elements of this strategy: