New This Week on HealthIT.g​ov

New This Week on HealthIT.gov To say we have been wicked busy this week would be an immense understatement. The results of this flurry of activity, however, are well worth it. Take a look at this one-stop-link for all things MU stage 2. We try to keep this up-to-date because it includes new files on attestation, tipsheets, FAQs and links to tools and regs from both CMS and ONC. RFI on Policy Levers that Drive HIE We announced last month at HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) 13 that we want to start a conversation about what ONC and CMS policies could result in providers routinely exchanging patient’s clinical data across care settings to support the coordination of their care and improvement of their health. For new models of care and payment to transform the health care system into one that’s patient-centric and value-driven, it’s essential that information be able to follow the patient regardless of where they receive care. Please weigh in - we want to hear your voice. The deadline for comments is April 22. HealthIT Buzz blog We had a bunch of important announcements this week that went out via the Buzz Blog about health information exchange and the HIE “bright spots” around the country. Claudia Williams, who is ONC’s HIE honcho, writes about the DirectTrust/New York eHealth Collaborative governance partnership. Erica Galvez posted another in her very readable series of blog posts on “HIE bright spots,” which lays out how clinicians in NYC manage behavioral and mental health patients use HIE to track patient admits and discharges … and a whole lot more. Finally, John Rancourt and Fadesola Adetosoye invited states to pick up the gauntlet, announcing the Meaningful Use Acceleration Challenge 2.0. Please give them a read. And tell us your stories about achieving Meaningful Use. Findings from University-Based Training Site Visits NORC at the University of Chicago has been busy evaluating ONC funded workforce development programs across the country for ONC. The reports explain the different approaches colleges and universities are taking to train health IT professionals, the latest focusing on the University-Based Training Program. Please peruse and give us your feedback. HIT Policy Committee Meeting Our HIT Policy Committee tackled a number of complex issues Wednesday at its all-day meeting in Washington, touching on HIE governance, the CommonWell Alliance and privacy and security issues that arise when a patient or other provider engages in a “query/response.” Members of the Privacy and Security Tiger Team made formal recommendations to the committee and laid out the “rules of the road”on query and response. If you missed the meeting, you can listen to the replay. 2014 Edition Test Method update ONC has updated the 2014 Edition Test Method for the Certification of EHR technology. The new testing methods, (procedures, tools and data) were approved in December 2012 and are currently in use for testing. Take a look at the Testing and Certification page of healthIT.gov for the details and latest updates. Interoperability Training Courses The newest Interoperability training courses are here! ONC developed these tools around the Stage 2 Meaningful Use (MU) Rule to train Eligible Professional (EPs) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) on how to implement the new standards. The web based training courses are designed to better equip folks who are helping providers and hospitals meet the new objectives. The series consists of five self-paced courses, and three of them are now available on HealthIT.gov Interoperability Basics Training Interoperability and Transitions of Care Interoperability and Lab Exchange