What's New on HealthIT.gov As a result of problems with our distribution service, we were unable to send this out on Friday. So, let's talk about a few of the new resources now available on HealthIT.gov. In This Issue: Health IT Patient Safety Update HIE Governance Work Plan Cross Vendor Exchange Updates New Frequently Asked Questions Tell Your Story Health IT Patient Safety Update  Less than a month after releasing the Health IT Patient Safety Plan, we added a pair of new tools to the growing online portfolio of patient safety resources: Patient Safety Organization FAQs: Developed by AHRQ, this extensive list of FAQs will encourage and assist providers, health IT developers, and others to engage Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) to improve the safety of health IT and health IT-assisted care. Topics include: How providers can report health IT-related events to PSOs. Privilege and confidentiality protections for providers and PSOs under the Patient Safety Act. How health IT developers can work with PSOs in order to help identify and mitigate health IT safety issues.   EHR Contracts: Key Contract Terms for Users to Understand: This is a guide for purchasers and users of EHR systems who are or may become legally bound by EHR technology developer contracts. It features examples and a plain English explanation designed to help organizations who rely on EHRs for critical aspects of their operations to understand key contractual terms (e.g., confidentiality and “non-disclosure” provisions that may limit sharing of patient safety information). We hope this will help providers better anticipate and protect themselves against patient safety and other risks.    Stay tuned for additional updates as implementation of the Health IT Patient Safety Plan continues and additional tools, research, and knowledge become available. HIE Governance Work Plan  Check out the new content covering the Exemplar HIE Governance cooperative agreement recipients, DirectTrust and the EHR|HIE Interoperability Workgroup. These partners have put together work plans outlining their activities with ONC to: Develop and adopt policies, interoperability requirements and business practices that align with national priorities. Overcome interoperability challenges Reduce implementation costs and Assure the privacy and security of health information exchange.   This work will support and advance the efforts of these existing governance entities which will benefit consumers and providers by allowing health information to flow securely between unaffiliated healthcare organizations. Cross Vendor Exchange Updates  New information about cross vendor exchange is now available on HealthIT.gov. Some of the info we have posted includes Cross Vendor Exchange Test Instructions and Vendor Participation Information. New Frequently Asked Questions  Check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that hopefully can address some of your common questions related to health IT. Questions specific to EHR implementation can be found under the ‘Implementing EHRs’ topic areas – covering subtopics such as planning your approach and vendor selection.  You may also use the FAQ search feature to quickly find topics of interest, comprehensive answers, and other related FAQs.    To view other NLC resources, visit the EHR implementation lifecycle steps.  Tell Your Story  Read additional Health IT Success Stories from some of the EHR early adopters who are sharing their tips and tidbits about how they overcame hurdles to achieve meaningful use.  You can find these stories and more under Success Stories & Case Studies: Pediatric Practice IT Manager Implements EHR System Designed to Accommodate Physician Workflow  Dr. Saver Discusses How Meaningful Use is a Team Sport Dr. Sahgal Uses an EHR System in Six Offices to Improve Diabetes Care