News

Summaries of open source, health care, or health IT news and information from various sources on the web selected by Open Health News (OHNews) staff. Links are provided to the original news or information source, e.g. news article, web site, journal,blog, video, etc.

See the following -

ONC Interoperability Meeting Raises More Questions Than Answers

Adrian Gropper | The Health Care Blog | July 25, 2017

ONC’s first public event under the new administration was very well organized and run. Eight leading health information exchange incumbents were able to describe their current approaches and plans, the patient advocate position was clearly stated, and a nice synthesis of the issues raised by the trusted framework approach to interoperability was prepared by a consulting organization. Much to ONC’s credit, they went out of their way to provide access and public comment to an extent that is unprecedented in my experience. Slides and recordings will be posted soon and a 30-day comment period runs through August 24. Kudos to ONC...

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ONC Issues New Guidance For More Reliable EHRs

Mike Miliard | Government Health IT | January 17, 2014

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT hopes to make electronic health records safer through a new suite of checklists and recommended practices designed to help care providers and affiliated organizations optimize EHR safety. Read More »

ONC Kicks Off Blue Button Video Contest

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | October 2, 2012

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT launched its Blue Button video competition Oct. 1 to create awareness of consumers having easy online access to their health information, and to motivate them in how they might use it. Read More »

ONC Launches Health IT Playbook

Joyce Frieden | MedPage Today | September 26, 2016

As healthcare providers work to implement electronic health records (EHR), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has developed a resource aimed at helping them. The Health IT Playbook, which the ONC is launching today, is aimed at helping solo providers, and those in small and medium-sized practices, get the most out of their health information technology, Thomas Mason, MD, ONC's chief medical officer, told MedPage Today in an exclusive interview...

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ONC Looking To Beacons For Database Of Insights From HIT Frontier

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | January 3, 2012

The 17 Beacon communities around the country that have brought providers together within regions to use health IT and clinical interventions to elicit better patient care have each demonstrated measureable improvements, including for outcomes around chronic disease and preventive screenings. Read More »

ONC Looks To Make Blue Button Public, Boost Patient Engagement

Ed Burns | TechTarget | September 12, 2012

Blue Button may have started as a patient engagement tool that allows veterans to access their health information electronically, but government IT officials are looking to bring this type of functionality to civilian patients, too. Read More »

ONC Offers Guidance To Providers Ineligible For MU

Mike Miliard | Government Health IT | September 11, 2013

As it works to broaden health information exchange capabilities across the care continuum, the Office of the National Coordinator has drawn up a certification guidance aimed at technology developers serving specialized providers who are ineligible for Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive payments. Read More »

ONC Plan Makes Reporting IT Hazards Easy

Erin McCann | Healthcare IT News | July 2, 2013

With sights set on utilizing health IT to curb the alarming number of medical errors that transpire each year, ONC officials unveiled Tuesday their final plan to bolster patient safety initiatives nationwide. Read More »

ONC Plans Stronger EHR, Patient Safety Features

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | December 26, 2012

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT wants to use electronic health record certification criteria to make it easier for physicians to report patient safety events, which provide critical raw data for developers, healthcare providers, researchers and policymakers to improve the safety of health IT and make care safer. Read More »

ONC Playbook Breaks Down Health IT, EHR Tasks and Buzzwords

Jennifer Bresnick | HealthIT Analytics | September 27, 2016

The healthcare industry seems to be largely driven by buzzwords: quick and snappy phrases that reduce complex, difficult, expensive and often confusing initiatives into keywords that may not mean much to the uninitiated. From big data and population health management to electronic health records and value-based care, these short and sweet terms have come to define the new direction of one of the nation’s largest sectors...

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ONC Posts Connect 4.0 Open Source HIE Tool

Tom Sullivan | Government Health IT | February 12, 2013

Continuing to advance its health information exchange offerings, ONC posted Connect 4.0 on Monday and the latest iteration brings the HIE platform closer to a day when ONC might turn it over to the open source community. Read More »

ONC Posts Tech Guide For Blue Button Plus

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | January 17, 2013

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has made available technical descriptions and guidance for its more automated version of the Blue Button feature aimed at giving patients easier access and use of their health information. Read More »

ONC Releases Beta Scorecard for C-CDA Documents

Greg Slabodkin | Health Data Management | July 20, 2016

A new tool released by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is being offered to providers and developers to help them identify and resolve interoperability issues involving Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA) documents in their HIT systems. Read More »

ONC Releases I.T. Training Materials

Joseph Goedert | Health Data Management | March 29, 2012

The Office of the National Coordinator for HIT has made available at no cost an updated version of teaching materials used in the HITECH-funded community college health I.T. training programs. Read More »

ONC Reveals Blue Button Codeathon Winners

Diana Manos | Government Health IT | November 8, 2013

ONC on Friday named the winners of its Blue Button codeathon. Read More »