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

See the following -

U. S. Electronic Health Record Initiative: A Backlash Growing?

Robert N. Charette | IEEE.org | March 7, 2013

There seems to be a slow but steady backlash growing among healthcare providers against the U.S. government’s $30 billion initiative to get all its citizens an electronic health record, initially set to happen by 2014 but now looking at 2020 or beyond. Read More »

U.S., U.K. to collaborate on health IT, data projects

Joe Conn | Modern Healthcare | January 24, 2014

HHS and health authorities in the United Kingdom agreed to collaborate on a broad scope of health information technology and health data projects and practices. Read More »

Update on Patient Matching Activities

I have written several times about patient matching in the US, both in a blog entry and a published article. On December 11, 2017 the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) sponsored a half-day “Interoperability in Action” webinar focused on Patient Matching Milestones at ONC (see slides). The webinar focused on four ONC projects from the past year. Here’s a quick run-down on what they covered. Read More »

Upgrading the PULSE Emergency Response Tool to a Community Edition

Seven years ago the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) began work on the Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies (PULSE). PULSE is an effort to create national resilience by improving first responder access to patient electronic health information they need to provide services and ensure public health during disasters, including public health emergencies. Recently, ONC launched a new, code-only technical solution called PULSE-Community Edition (PULSE Community) that builds on the original PULSE code. PULSE Community enables first responders and other response personnel (e.g., epidemiologists, emergency medical services, and health care volunteers) to securely access vital health information they need during emergencies and disasters from connected health care organizations.

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US and UK working to strengthen use of health IT for better patient care

Press Release | US Department of Health and Human Services | January 23, 2014

As the use of health information technology (health IT) grows in both the United States and the United Kingdom, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.K. Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt today signed a bi-lateral agreement for the use and sharing of health IT information and tools. The agreement strengthens efforts to cultivate and increase the use of health IT tools and information designed to help improve the quality and efficiency of the delivery of health care in both countries.

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Usability Of EHRs Remains A Priority For ONC

Jacob Reider | Health IT Buzz | January 6, 2014

The New Year is a time of reflection and anticipation. We reflect on what went well in the past (and perhaps what didn’t go so well); we anticipate future challenges and accomplishments. Read More »

VA & SAMHSA test Exchange of Tagged Substance Abuse Data

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | September 18, 2012

The Veterans Affairs Department and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have demonstrated how to securely share sensitive health information while following confidentiality laws and patient disclosure wishes among providers using certified electronic health records (EHRs). Read More »

VA Official: Meaningful-Use Push For VistA EHR Will Benefit Patients

Joseph Conn | ModernHealthcare.com | October 25, 2012

The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department will lend more than moral support to a federal effort to boost the meaningful use of health information technology by submitting its venerable VistA electronic health-record system for testing and certification for use in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive payment programs. Read More »

VA Officials Chart Expanded Vision For Blue Button

Wyatt Kash | AOL Government | September 28, 2012

What began as a simple way to help veterans view their personal health information over the Internet is continuing to snowball into an electronic health record phenomena known as the Blue Button, now used by more than a million patients nationally and gaining wider adoption by certain health care providers. Read More »

VA To Add VLER Exchange Communities In 2013

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | October 19, 2012

The Veterans Affairs Department will add over the next year to the 13 regions of the country where VA and Defense Department medical facilities share information with providers in the private sector as part of the virtual lifetime electronic record program (VLER). Read More »

VA, DoD Owe EHR Plan To Congress By End Of January

Dan Bowman | FierceEMR | December 13, 2013

Funding legislation agreed to by the House and Senate this week mandates that the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense present a plan for building either an interoperable or single electronic health record by the end of January. Read More »

VA, HHS Team Up On Telehealth

Mike Miliard | Government Health IT | September 13, 2012

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki have announced a joint effort to expand care delivery to veterans living in rural areas. Read More »

Value Of Developing, Optimizing EHR Systems For Clinicians

Kyle Murphy | EHR Intelligence | July 22, 2013

As defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), meaningful use is the implementation and adoption of EHR systems to increase the delivery of high-quality care while ensuring patient safety. However, this hasn’t been the experience of many physicians... Read More »

Washington Watch: Blue Button Push

Diana Manos | HealthcareITNews | September 13, 2012

One of the most interesting and innovative elements of the advancement of health information technology that I've encountered, is Blue Button, a web tool patients can use to view and download their personal health information. Read More »

Ways EHRs Can Lead To Unintended Safety Problems

Kevin B. O’Reilly | American Medical News | February 25, 2013

Wrong records and failures in data transfer impede physicians and harm patients, according to an analysis of health technology incidents. Read More »