Portrait of Jessica S. Ancker ,

University-Based Training: A Look at Columbia and Cornell

Jessica S. Ancker | June 20, 2011

The Program of Assistance for University-Based Training (UBT), which is part of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) Workforce Development Program is designed to rapidly and sustainably increase the availability of individuals qualified to serve in specific health IT professional roles requiring university-level training.

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Portrait of Parmeeth M.S. Atwal ,

Ready for Meaningful Use Attestation

Parmeeth M.S. Atwal | June 15, 2011

When the clock struck midnight on April 18, 2011, Jennifer Brull, MD, was ready. She had already registered for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. She had her certified EHR system firmly in place, and working with the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care , the Regional Extension Center for Kansas, she had confirmation that her practice met meaningful use criteria. Dr. Brull was ready to complete her online submission to the Attestation System and qualify for Medicare/Medicaid EHR incentives.

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Portrait of Dr. Doug Fridsma

Interoperable Health Information Exchange Featured at GHIT Conference

Dr. Doug Fridsma | June 14, 2011

The Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) will be hosting its annual Government Health IT (GHIT) Conference June 14-15 in Washington, DC. ONC’s presence at the meeting will highlight the ongoing work being done at the federal and state level supporting interoperable health information exchange and meaningful use of electronic health records. In addition to a closing keynote speech by our new National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, I’ll be speaking about our efforts promoting standards-based interoperable health information exchange.

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Portrait of Steven Posnack

Fact or Fiction with EHR Certification Regulatory Interpretations

Steven Posnack | June 10, 2011

If enough people believe something, it has to be true, right? In my travels, I’ve found that regulatory interpretations range from being largely factual to wildly fictitious. The latter often results from misinterpretations of regulatory language, improper combinations of regulatory language from different rules, or accurate interpretations getting lost in translation as they are passed from person-to-person. These inaccurate interpretations, intentional or not, often unsurprisingly lead to confusion. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to clear up a few things I’ve heard related to certification.  

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