Portrait of John Rancourt

New ONC-Sponsored Research Advances Health Information Exchange

John Rancourt | January 25, 2013

Health information exchange (HIE) is not easy. ONC has sponsored expert research on various technical and business-related health information exchange topics, because we know that professionals engaged in implementing health information exchange must possess business acumen and technical expertise, on top of policy savvy and many other competencies. Without these skills there are many ways to overreach, or just as perilously, under reach, resulting in failure to maximize the long-term value of services offered through health information exchange.

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Portrait of Dr. Doug Fridsma

International Health IT Standards: A Closer Look at ONC Efforts

Dr. Doug Fridsma | January 24, 2013

Last week, I highlighted the work ONC does with the international health IT community at a broad level.  Today, I’m going to do a “deeper dive” into some of the specifics.  It’s important to note that in all of our international efforts we have worked to align our domestic priorities with the international health IT community. Much of our standards work focuses on an international set of “building blocks for interoperability” that aligns with our domestic portfolio of national health IT standards.

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Portrait of Dr. Doug Fridsma

Health IT Standards in the United States and Around the World

Dr. Doug Fridsma | January 18, 2013

At the Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) meeting last week, I gave an update on some of the health IT standards and technology highlights from last year, and a high-level view of the work ahead for this year’s standards work.
Obviously, much of the work of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and the Office of Science & Technology (OST) is focused on the domestic challenges of interoperability and the technology requirements for meaningful use,

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Portrait of Ryan Panchadsaram

Winners of Patient Health Record Graphic Design Contest Announced

Ryan Panchadsaram | January 17, 2013

Three months ago we challenged graphic designers to help us reimagine what the patient health record could look like. We hoped that by making a patient health record more usable, the record could help prevent medical errors, empower patients to make better health decisions, and even save lives. We received a record number of submissions from graphic designers (more than 230). Our reviewers and curators were inspired by how the entrants were able to use design to make the record more human-centered and easy to use.

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