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Learn more about HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
Interoperability Measuring Interoperability: Listening and Learning
Seth Pazinski | July 1, 2016
In April we asked for your input and comments on ways for us to measure how well our nation’s health care system is doing in achieving “widespread interoperability,” as required by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Separate from the provisions that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed to implement through the Quality Payment Program for payment of office-based Medicare physicians, MACRA specifically calls on HHS to establish metrics for the exchange and use of clinical information to facilitate coordinated care and improve patient outcomes between participants in the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs and others nationwide.
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Privacy and Security Educating Health App Developers about Regulatory Requirements
Lucia Savage | June 21, 2016
These days it doesn’t require a degree in computer science to create a health app. Developers of these apps can be technologists, clinicians, or patients using their knowledge and experience in health care. All can develop new health tools that range from tracking heart healthy behaviors to using electronic calendars to reminding us of health appointments.
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Health IT Safety ONC Publishes New Reports on Health IT Safety
Andrew Gettinger | June 10, 2016
Safety is and always has been a top priority at ONC. We have incorporated safety into the ONC Health IT Certification Program [PDF-257KB] and our guiding documents, the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan: 2015 – 2020 [PDF-1.2MB] and Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap. More specifically, ONC created a series of tools to help with the safe use of health IT, including a guide to e-prescribing and nine self-assessment protocols (called SAFER guides) that identify recommended practices to optimize the safety and safe use of electronic health records (EHRs).
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Consumer Engagement Empowering Patients: New Videos to Promote Access to Electronic Health Information
Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | June 2, 2016
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a HIPAA fact sheet earlier this year reinforcing patients’ right to access their health information and clarifying, among other things, that patients may be charged only limited fees for copies of their health information. Many people are not fully aware of their right to access their own medical records under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), including the right to access an electronic copy when their health information is stored electronically.
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Consumer Engagement Playbooks Aren’t Just for Sports Teams: Helping Providers and Patients Work Together with Health IT
Thomas A. Mason | June 2, 2016
Clinicians and other health care providers practice medicine with the noble goal of improving patient outcomes. The day-to-day considerations in treating patients are complex, which is where technology can be leveraged to streamline and better inform the patient-provider interaction.
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