National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

See the following -

Feds Look to Big Data to Position 'Government as a Platform'

Kenneth Corbin | CIO | January 15, 2013

Just as the federal government has been working to hasten its shift to cloud computing over the past few years, senior technology officials are now seeking to advance a framework for the government's approach to the challenges and opportunities presented by big data.

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Government Data Goes Public

Joseph Marks | Nextgov | January 15, 2013

When the real estate sites Trulia and Zillow both made initial public offerings this summer it was more than just a victory for the two companies, federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel said Tuesday. Read More »

Government Moves Toward Cloud Computing 'Perfect Storm'

Kenneth Corbin | CIO | February 16, 2012

As FedRAMP initiative ramps up, cloud service providers can look forward to clearer guidance from federal clients and a robust market as administration tech chiefs press on toward a 'Perfect Storm' in cloud computing.
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Halamka Reports on the Progress on Interoperability Made by the HIT Standards Committee

The March 2015 HIT Standards Committee was one of the most impactful meetings we have ever had. No, it was not the release of Meaningful Use Stage 3 or the certification rule. It was the creation of a framework that will guide all of our work for the next several years - everything we need for a re-charted standards harmonization convening body as well as a detailed interoperability roadmap, complementing the 10 year general plan developed by ONC. Thanks to Arien Malec for yeoman’s work in both areas...

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Halamka's Notes on the December HIT Standards Committee Meeting

The December HIT Standards Committee included a review of the draft Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, recommendations about identity management from the Transport and Security Workgroup, an overview of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, and a discussion of upcoming task force work as we all prepare for the publication of the ONC interoperability roadmap and the Meaningful Use Stage 3 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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Halamka's Report on The April 2015 HIT Standards Committee Meeting

The April 2015 HITSC meeting focused on the Certification Rule NPRM and a comprehensive review of the Federal Interoperability Roadmap. I suggested that a guiding principle for the committee’s work is to emphasize the enablers in the proposals while reducing those aspects that create substantial burden/slow innovation.   As a federal advisory committee our job is to temper regulatory ambition with operational reality.

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Healthcare Interoperability Research Propositions of the ONC Blockchain Challenge

Peter B. Nichol | CIO | August 18, 2016

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in partnership with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), recently launched an initiative called the ONC Blockchain Challenge and invited healthcare and technology leaders to submit research papers to explore the "use of blockchain in Health IT and Health-released Research"...

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How are Clinical Decision Support Artifacts Tested Today?

In October 2018 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Request for Information (RFI) for a Natural Test Collaborative (NTC). Through a series of questions, the RFI seeks opinions and information about "The development of a national testbed (notionally called the National Test Collaborative (NTC)) for real-world testing of health information technology (IT)" and "Approaches for creating a sustainable infrastructure" to achieve it. The scope of this RFI is daunting. It might be useful, rather than to try to tackle this whole topic broadly but superficially, to take just one Clinical Decision Support (CDS) domain and show as completely as possible how testing is currently done.

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How The NSA Undermines Cybersecurity

Brendan Sasso | Nextgov.com | April 30, 2014

...Officials have warned for years that a sophisticated cyberattack could cripple critical infrastructure or allow thieves to make off with the financial information of millions of Americans. President Obama pushed Congress to enact cybersecurity legislation, and when it didn’t, he issued his own executive order in 2013...

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How Three College Students Built a Health Provider Search Site in Six Weeks - A Lesson for the Federal Government

In six weeks, a team of three college students with no industry experience and only academic software-specific knowledge, developed and designed a health care provider search system using only open source software. To tell you how they got there, let's start with a little history of open source software in the US federal government workspace... Read More »

In Third Year, Materials Genome Initiative Pushes Forward

Colby Hochmuth | FedScoop | June 24, 2013

Federal government leaders, industry leaders and academia agreed two years ago to double the pace of technological development. Today, they renewed that commitment. Read More »

iPhones And iPads Poised To Win Key Pentagon Security Nod Next Week

Aliya Sternstein | Nextgov | May 9, 2013

Apple, within days, is set to finish clearing two safety hurdles that had kept the iPhone and iPad out of fingers’ way in the Defense Department and some civilian agencies. Read More »

Maintaining Health Data Privacy in Precision Medicine Push

Elizabeth Snell | Health IT Security | March 31, 2017

As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve and put PHI at risk, precision medicine guidelines need to be updated to account for new health data privacy threats, according to a recent opinion piece published in the Oxford University Press. The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System Senior Counsel Jennifer Kulynych, JD, PhD explained that data re-identification methods are not foolproof, and it can be difficult to determine exactly how individuals’ genomes are being used...

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NASA Plans Cloud Marketplace For Scientists

J. Nicholas Hoover | Information Week | November 3, 2011

NASA, already among the government leaders in cloud computing, plans to offer a cloud storefront where scientists will be able to determine their computing needs and access cloud services from a central location. Read More »

National ONC Blockchain Challenge Explores Micro-Identities to Improve Healthcare Interoperability

Peter B. Nichols | CIO | August 23, 2016

A lot has been written covering blockchain and healthcare over the past year. From articles on blockchain applications for healthcare to articles by healthcare industry experts exploring blockchain technology as the solution for healthcare interoperability. In early 2016 Forbes published an article titled "How Blockchain Could Change the World." The world is talking about uses of blockchain in the financial services industry. This seems reasonable given that there has been $1.2 billion invested in blockchain startups. The majority of these investments have been within the financial sector...

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