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Consumer Engagement New Data Show More Hospitals than Ever Making Information Available Electronically to Patients
Talisha Searcy | September 13, 2016
To help individuals manage their health, beginning in 2011, the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs called on health care providers to enable patients to electronically view, download, and transmit their health information to a destination of the patient’s choice. In 2015, the Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap [PDF – 2.6 MB] reaffirmed this objective.
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Interoperability Publishing the Draft 2017 Interoperability Standards Advisory for Public Comment: The Latest Step Towards Common, Federally Recognized Standards
Steven Posnack | August 22, 2016
Today, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published the draft 2017 Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) for public comment. The ISA is a coordinated catalog of standards and implementation specifications that are available for use by the health information technology (health IT) industry to meet interoperability needs. It is a key element of ONC’s continued implementation of the Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap and directly supports the Interoperability Commitments that leading health IT developers,
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Rural Health Moving Interoperability Forward by Engaging Small, Rural, and Critical Access Hospitals
Dr. Vindell Washington | July 27, 2016
As I announced at our recent Annual Meeting, hospitals across the country continue to make progress toward the goal of ensuring that health information flows where it is needed the most. Today, almost all U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals have certified electronic health record (EHR) technology and 82 percent are electronically exchanging laboratory results, radiology reports, clinical care summaries, or medication lists with ambulatory care providers or hospitals outside their organization – double the percentage from 2008.
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Privacy and Security An Opportunity for Sharing Information about Cyber Attacks
Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | July 25, 2016
To better prevent attacks on health information technology, organizations need better visibility into what to expect and how to respond. Timely information on the nature of attacks is critical to that ability. To enable better dissemination of threat information, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) released two Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) to build the capacity of an Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO).
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Privacy and Security Examining Oversight of the Privacy & Security of Health Data Collected by Entities Not Regulated by HIPAA
Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | July 19, 2016
Many of us now use wearables and other types of health information technology to help us manage our health and the health of our loved ones. These fitness trackers, their related social media sites where individuals share health information, and other technologies are changing the way we interact and control our own health. However, they did not exist when Congress originally enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996.
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