Government Health IT blogs
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched Health IT Buzz, a new blog for the discussion of Information Technology (IT) issues, particularly electronic health records.
David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said on the initial posting:
With this new venture, we hope to create a forum for engagement. We plan to report on progress, and create an open dialogue among members of the health IT community. We intend to address a wide and diverse range of timely topics relevant to the “why’s and how’s” of efforts to support the secure and seamless exchange of electronic health information. We will discuss our ongoing work to protect patient privacy, secure information, and implement standards. We’ll also be using the blog to provide additional information regarding our new grant programs. And the conversation wouldn’t be complete without discussing the meaningful use rulemaking and incentive programs, clarifying our vision and addressing key challenges.
We want to hear from citizens, patients, health professionals, managers, policymakers, technology enthusiasts and technology skeptics. We can’t succeed unless we understand the wishes and concerns of the many constituencies we serve.
Federal Advisory Committees
The first blog post has already produced a lively debate with dozens of comments from doctors and interested groups. While there is already a wide range of forums to discuss Healthcare reform, this blog differs in that it focuses specifically on Health IT. It does, however, follow on from a similar blog that has been running for the past couple of months concerning the work of the Federal Advisory Committees on Health IT.
Aneesh Chopra - Federal Government CTO - has previously stated his ambition to uncover new strategies to accelerate the adoption of health IT standards.
"Standards" are really the guardians of quality, consistency, and interoperability.
Without thoughtful, clear and uniform standards, we cannot enable the seamless and secure exchange of electronic health information (or the benefits that accrue to providers and patients from such protected exchanges). So, while the exploration of technical standards may seem mundane to some, it is foundational to electronic health records (EHRs) and electronic health information exchange more broadly.
In this vein, Public hearings on Health IT (HIT) Standards began earlier this year and will continue into next year. Aneesh Chopra wants all stakeholders to be able to follow the activity of the Committees and contribute to their current thinking. Consequently, members of the Health IT Standards Committee began a blog to facilitate Transparency and Collaboration in the work of the HIT Policy and Standards Committees.
The Federal Advisory Committees blog has, and is due to focus on:
- Proposed Standards
- Interoperability
- Vocabularies
- Privacy
- Security
- Quality
- Implementation Case Studies (Your Story - the good, bad and in-between)
The new Health IT Buzz and the Federal Advisory Committee blogs provide the public with a new and accessible medium in which to follow activity on formulation of policy and standards in this area. They exemplify President Obama's Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.
The aim is for quality, consistent and interoperable standards to emerge as a result of wide-ranging, transparent discussions by all on the topics above.
