ONC will 'act swiftly' to move health IT projectsExperts will meet in the coming weeks to develop plans and procedures for stimulus law projects
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has begun detailing plans for implementing the health IT provisions of the economic stimulus law. The strategy focuses on funding projects aimed at security and privacy, electronic health records, and standards.
In the plan released May 15, Dr. David Blumenthal, national health IT coordinator, said he was aware that ONC must “act swiftly but thoughtfully.”
The office will hold meetings in the next several weeks to develop plans and procedures for accelerating the adoption of electronic health records and other technologies.
Blumenthal must send Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius an initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria in September and publish them by Dec. 31, according to the plan.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $2 billion for ONC initiatives, including:
- $24.3 million for work on privacy and security. The Health and Human Services Department issued interim guidance in April that described technologies to make protected health information unusable to unauthorized individuals. Final guidance will be published after a public comment period. In August, HHS will publish an interim final rule to establish breach notification for organizations covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and business associates.
- $300 million for grants to help physicians, hospitals and clinics establish electronic health records. The health IT coordinator will publish details on the funds’ availability by September and issue awards in early fiscal 2010.
- $20 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to work on advancing health care information integration by analyzing technical standards and developing a conformance testing infrastructure.
ONC must still determine the designation of some $1.7 billion in funding.
The health IT provisions of the economic stimulus law will be crucial to health reform because they will encourage physicians and hospitals to use IT to help prevent and treat illnesses and improve health, the plan states. For that to happen, ONC “will need to engage and ensure buy-in from stakeholders in both the private and public sectors.”
About the Author |
发表于 2009-5-20 08:53:17