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Learn more about HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
Local Implementation Support, Regional Extension Centers ONC’s RECs Prepare to Provide Meaningful Use Help
Mat Kendall | August 11, 2010
To support the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records, ONC has funded 60 Regional Extension Centers (RECs) across the country. The goal of the RECs is to provide outreach, education, and on-site technical assistance to support 100,000 primary care physicians implementing electronic health records (EHRs) into their practices and working to attain meaningful use of their systems.
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Meaningful Use Guiding Principles for Stage 1 Meaningful Use Adjustments
Joshua Seidman | July 30, 2010
The release of the CMS Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Final Rule [link] on July 14 marked the end of the Stage 1 process for defining “meaningful use.” The final steps of that process involved reviewing, synthesizing, analyzing and reacting to more than 2,200 comments received from the public. The comments addressed big-picture principles and arcane details, and just about everything in between. We were very grateful for the public input and are very excited to announce the Stage 1 Meaningful Use requirements.
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Privacy and Security EHR Security is a Top Priority
Dr. Deborah Lafky | July 19, 2010
With the passage of the HITECH Act, Congress made health IT security a top priority. ONC is committed to making electronic health information as secure as technically and humanly feasible.
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Electronic Health & Medical Records The Future of Health Care and Electronic Records
Dr. David Blumenthal | July 13, 2010
Today, we’ve taken great steps forward in bringing America’s health records into the 21st century. Widespread and meaningful use of fully functional electronic health record systems combined with a robust infrastructure for broad-based health information exchange can improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care for all Americans.
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Privacy and Security Health IT Privacy and Security
Joy Pritts | July 8, 2010
Privacy and security are the bedrock of building trust in health information exchange. The proposed modifications to the HIPAA Privacy & Security Rules, announced today, are a significant step forward in HHS’s efforts to protect patient privacy rights while encouraging the adoption of electronic health information exchange. The next phase of this process is just as important—obtaining public feedback and suggestions concerning the proposed rules. The comment period will begin once the rule is published in the Federal Register on July 14.
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