Welcome to the Health IT Buzz Blog
Learn more about HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
Reports New Data on Skilled Nursing Facilities Use of Electronic Health Records Establish the Path for Progress
Seth Pazinski | September 7, 2017
Data released today by the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) report for the first time, nationally representative measures on electronic health record (EHR) adoption and health information exchange among skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Most SNFs (64 percent) used EHRs to manage patient health information in 2016. About 22 percent of SNFs reported participating in a state or regional health information organization (HIO); with a fifth of facilities (18 percent) using both an EHR and an HIO.
Read Full Post.
Interoperability, Interoperability Thank You for Joining Us! Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement Kick Off Meeting
Elise Sweeney Anthony | August 8, 2017
On July 24, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) kicked off a new, inclusive and ongoing effort in support of the trusted exchange framework and common agreement provisions in section 4003 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures).
Read Full Post.
Health IT Certification A 5-year Goal to Transition the ONC Health IT Certification Program’s Testing Portfolio
Steven Posnack | August 3, 2017
Throughout its seven-year history, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) Health IT Certification Program (Program) has evolved in many ways, including improvements that enhanced the Program’s integrity, transparency, and efficiency. Central to the Program’s administration is the use of electronic, automated testing tools for health information technology (health IT). These tools enable health IT to be repeatedly and rigorously tested relative to its ability to accurately create standardized data files and perform interoperability oriented transactions.
Read Full Post.
Consumer Engagement Understanding the Patient Experience to Improve Patient Access to Medical Records
Lana Moriarty | July 11, 2017
Melissa Crawford is a mother from Concord, NH. Her two year old daughter, Ava, has a congenital heart defect and was recently diagnosed with epilepsy. Melissa loves Ava’s physician’s patient portal since it allows her to easily book appointments and refill Ava’s medications online. But when Ava’s pediatrician needed medical records from Ava’s five specialists, the various patient portals did not provide all the health information the doctor needed. Melissa set off on a stressful and complicated journey to gather the information from the five specialists in time for Ava’s appointment with her pediatrician.
Read Full Post.
Interoperability Join Us At the Trusted Exchange Framework & Common Agreement Kick Off Meeting on July 24
Genevieve Morris | July 5, 2017
The 21st Century Cures Act, (Cures) a bipartisan, comprehensive law, supports the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments to maintain America’s global status in biomedical innovation. Cures calls for innovation in the seamless exchange of health information and lays out a path and timeline to develop or support a trusted exchange framework and common agreement to achieve full network to network exchange of health information. Cures calls on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to advance that seamless exchange of health information,
Read Full Post.