New This Week on HealthIT.gov

In This Issue:

Happy Friday and thanks to all of you who attended or watched our Annual Meeting last week, we thought it went quite well. And now, on to the next thing, which is the ONC/WestHealth Initiative interoperability summit coming up Feb. 6. It features our new boss, Dr. Karen DeSalvo and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell, along with a whole list of other experts and dignitaries. Check it out either in person or through the webcast.

Resource Repository on HealthIT.gov

ONC has developed and posted provider resources on Healthit.gov for several years. Now these tools are all in one place. The resource repository lets users filter by: topic, practice type, role in practice, and several other dimensions. In addition to consolidating these tools into a filterable list, we also added a 5-star rating feature that lets you give ONC and other users feedback on these tools. So, check it out and rate the documents you find useful and those you don't. If you know of or have a resource you’d like us to use or link to please contact Peter Keesey at peter.keesey@hhs.gov.

Practice Transformation video

Practice transformation is not just a neat idea or fleeting initiative; it’s the future of healthcare. We posted a new video for providers and professionals to get smart on practice transformation. This short video can help RECs educate providers on five practice transformation initiatives: Medical Homes, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) Initiative, the State Innovation Models Initiative (SIMS), and Million Hearts. It provides an overview of each initiative, how providers can benefit from being involved in each initiative, and how RECs can help providers with each initiative. View the transformation video on HealthIT.gov.

HIE Strategic and Operational Plan Collection Update

You may have seen reports about an ONC request for an extension for Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance to continue collecting state Strategic and Operational Plans (SOPs). The notice was posted in error. Our State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program is ending and states no longer have a requirement to submit updated SOPs to our office. We are not asking for this extension, in fact, we are letting the Information Collection Request authority expire.

View, Download and Transmit

Given the confusion over the view, download and transmit requirements for 2014, our own Dr. Rebecca Mitchell Coelius (@RebeccaCoelius) took the liberty of writing a blog post. Please take a look! She offers a few tips to help you understand and help your patients who can to view, download and transmit their data.

Quality Data Model

In case you missed it, we released a new version of the Quality Data Model (QDM) in December. The QDM was put together by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and ONC and describes clinical concepts in a standardized format to enable electronic quality performance measurement. The model is the backbone for representing criteria used in clinical quality measures. The QDM is currently being harmonized with other relevant quality improvement and CDS standards. We are going to discuss plans for updating versions of the electronic specifications for clinical quality measures (CQMs) and continuation of the QDM user group during a public webinar on Feb. 6, 2014 (11am-12:30pm, EST). For more information on the QDM and QDM User Group, please visit www.healthit.gov/quality-data-model or contact qdm@mitre.org.

Quarterly Global Evaluation Report

We have gathered together a wide array of selected statistics and activity reports relating to implementation of HITECH, which reflect information on: MU stage 1 incentive payments, MU Stage 2 incentive and certification requirements, development of Stage 3 MU requirements, availability of certified products in the vendor market, HIE, workforce programs, patient engagement, health IT and delivery reform, effectiveness of health IT and other topics. Quarterly reports are posted by ONC and are publicly available under the Evaluations of HITECH Programs section on the Health IT Dashboard.

Implementation Guides

The 2014 CMS Quality Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA) Implementation Guides for eligible providers Clinical Quality Measures for the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) initiative, CMS EHR Incentive Program, and Pioneer ACO Program are now available on the CMS Clinical Quality Measures webpage. The CMS/ONC Vendor Workgroup meeting on February 20, 2014 will include a question and answer session regarding these documents, and we encourage vendors to attend with their questions at that time. If you work for an EHR developer and/or vendor and you’d like to participate in the CMS/ONC vendor workgroup, please contact Erica Galvez or Nora Super.

Health IT Summit for Nurses

Please join ONC and the American Nurses Association for the "At the Crossroads of Patient Care: Health IT for Nurses and Advanced Practice Nurses" Summit at The Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Maryland on March 21. Mark your calendars — this is a FREE EVENT! A registration link will be provided during the 2nd week of February.

HIPAA Hangout

The ONC's Division of Science & Innovation is hosting a series of Innovation Exchange virtual hangouts to highlight federal regulations, research, and initiatives that are important to Health IT entrepreneurs and developers, and present new opportunities for innovation. The next one, HIPAA 101 for Entrepreneurs, Part II, is scheduled for next Friday (Feb. 7) at 2 p.m. (EST). Geoff Clapp, Co-Founder of Better, will moderate the discussion with Joy Pritts, ONC’s Chief Privacy Officer and Mark Eichorn, Assistant Director in the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission. Please register via WebEx or dial in at 888-831-6083 (Code: 8772074).