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Learn more about HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
Interoperability Highlighting a Way to Advance Interoperability and Reduce Costs for Lab Tests
Steven Posnack | November 18, 2016
Last year, Health Level Seven International (HL7) released an implementation guide that provides a standardized way to exchange the catalogs of (thousands) laboratory tests and services that a clinical laboratory can perform. We wanted to highlight the implementation guide’s potential to not only advance interoperability, but also to create cost savings and improve patient care.
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Health IT Safety Using EHRs to Make Medication Management Safer
Andrew Gettinger | November 17, 2016
With the rapid adoption of certified electronic health records (EHRs) and health information technology (health IT) tools, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has been working to help address concerns about the safe use of these tools, including issuing legislative proposals to better foster the flow of health information.
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Privacy and Security New Resources to Help Providers Maintain Access to Protected Health Information
Lucia Savage | November 1, 2016
As electronic health record (EHR) adoption becomes widespread, and providers increasingly embrace the patient engagement opportunities of digital health, EHR customers look to EHR vendors to ensure that health information is available where and when it is needed. And yet we know from our experience that many providers continue to face challenges when they seek access to protected health information (PHI)—challenges that could impact patient care and safety. That’s why we are highlighting two recent resources that improve the awareness of EHR vendors’ obligations to make health information available to their health care provider customers.
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From the ONC Desk, Health IT “You Never Want to Go Back”: The Promise of Health IT
Dr. Vindell Washington | October 17, 2016
On Friday, October 14, 2016, Dr. Vindell Washington delivered a keynote address at the Association of Health Care Journalists’ (AHCJ) Journalism Workshop on Health Information Technology. The following are Dr. Washington’s remarks as prepared.
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Health IT Certification Highlights: Supporting the Reliability and Safety of Certified Health IT through an ONC Direct Review Process
Elise Sweeney Anthony | October 14, 2016
Today we issued the “ONC Health IT Certification Program: Enhanced Oversight and Accountability” final rule. This is a key part of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) commitment to accelerate the interoperable flow of electronic health information by supporting the reliable and safe use of certified health information technology (health IT). We truly appreciate the comments we received on this rule from the stakeholder community and we look forward to working with stakeholders as we implement its provisions.
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