The following are part of a series of ongoing updates from Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) encourages you to share this information as we work together to enhance the quality, safety and value of care and the health of all Americans through the use of electronic health records and health information technology.
For more information and to receive regular updates from ONC, please subscribe to our Health IT News list.
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The HITECH Foundation for Information Exchange
As the many activities mandated by the HITECH Act move forward, I want to take a moment to share my vision of the overarching goal and some of its implications. Our goal, above all else, is to make care better for patients, and to make it patient-centered. Information policy and health IT policy should serve that goal. Read more
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“Meaningful” Progress Toward Electronic Health Information Exchange
Today I want to discuss the important term “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs) – both as a concept that underlies the movement toward an electronic health care environment and as a practical set of standards that will be issued as a proposed regulation by the end of 2009. Read more
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News on Next Steps Toward Nationwide Health Information Exchange
Today’s announcement from the White House regarding the rollout of the first two in a series of HITECH priority grant programs represents a critical step forward in laying the groundwork for meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). These programs will offer valuable help to health care providers in the selection and incorporation of EHRs into clinical practice, and for States and their designates to assure that statewide information exchange is developed with an eye toward nationwide connectivity across the health care system. Read more
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Electronic Health Records and the 21st Century Health Care System
In my role as National Coordinator for Health IT, I have the privilege to be part of a transformative change in health care that will help to extend the benefits of health information technology (HIT) to all Americans. With the passage earlier this year of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, we have the tools to begin a major transformation in American health care made possible through the creation of a secure, interoperable nationwide health information network. Read more
