Link: The National HIT organizations
Most Americans are probably aware that changes in healthcare are gaining momentum. We are in the early phases of change, impacted by recent ARRA legislation and incentives to adopt electronic healthcare records (EHRs).
There are a number of groups that previously existed, or have been established, to provide guidance, standards, and specifications in support of EHRs. Understanding the role of each group as it relates to ARRA may be interesting to those individuals who desire an improved understanding of how these groups are working to facilitate adoption of EHRs.
I came across John Halamka's blog where he shared his perspective and knowledge about these National Health IT organizations . Groups covered in his post include: (Brief summaries are paraphrased, details can be obtained from the link above or on the organization's website below.)
- Office of the National Coordinator (ONC): led by Dr. David Blumenthal, responsible for controlling and coordinating healthcare IT stimulus requirements/incentives associated with ARRA.
- Health IT Standards Committee (HIT): responsible for standards, implementation specifications, and criteria for electronic health information exchange.
- Health IT (HIT) Policy Committee: recommendations to ONC for development/implementation of the national Health IT infrastructure.
- Health Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP): provides a consultative role to the HIT Standards Committee.
- National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC): developing a national prioritization process to advance interoperability for healthcare IT adoption.
- Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT): Health IT (HIT) certification organization.
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