New This Week on HealthIT.gov

In This Issue

HITPC Listening Sessions

With an eye toward coordinating – because that’s what we do – we are reaching out to learn more about your experiences with meaningful use. In a blog post that went live yesterday, Paul Tang, the Health IT Policy Committee's (HITPC) Meaningful Use Workgroup chairman, asked for you to join a pair of virtual listening sessions (May 20 and May 27) to hear tell them your experiences. Please read the blog post to learn more about the listening sessions!

Also next week, Thursday, May 22, the Certification and Adoption Workgroup will be holding a listening session to explore the health IT needs of long-term and post-acute care and behavioral health settings. Learn more in this blog post by Larry Wolf, the co-chair of the Workgroup. For this session you will need to sign up in advance if you wish to testify. You are also invited to listen and provide public comment at the end of the session by following the information on the Federal Advisory Committee (FACA) website. The Workgroup is also requesting written comments by 11:59pm EDT on May 22 using this public comment template which can be emailed to onc.request@hhs.gov. The proposed recommendations are included in the public comment template.

Federal Advisory Committee calendar for the week of May 19

The Federal Advisory Committee schedule this week is as follows:

Tuesday
The #HITPC Meaningful Use Workgroup listening session begins at 10 am (EDT).
Wednesday
The Health IT Standards Committee (#HITSC) will hold a virtual meeting at 9:30 am (EDT).
Thursday
The #HITPC Certification/Adoption Workgroup holds a listening session that convenes at 1 pm (EDT).
Friday
The #HITPC Quality Measures Workgroup meets at 9 am and the #HITSC Privacy & Security Workgroup meets at 2:30 pm (both EDT).

As soon as the committees make their agendas, slides and other materials available, look for them on our website at http://www.healthit.gov/facas/calendar.

Webinar on Advancing Health IT for Behavioral Health

On Wednesday, ONC is hosting a webinar, Advancing Health IT Adoption and Exchange to Facilitate Healthcare Transformation for Behavioral Health from 3 to 4 pm (EDT). The webinar will provide you with an opportunity to learn about how ONC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration are leading national efforts to integrate behavioral health and primary care using health IT. Register for the webinar today.

South Florida REC Meets Goal

Hey, South Florida Regional Extension Center (REC), congrats on meeting 100 percent of your milestone 3 target, helping 2,500 + providers meaningfully use their EHRs! The REC continues to help providers throughout southern Florida transform their practices by helping them use their EHRs. Special thanks to the South Florida REC team who helped make this major milestone a reality.

As more and more providers and hospitals adopt and use health IT, momentum builds, and patients continue to be at the center of care. Thanks to all of the RECs and the providers they serve for their continued partnership as we move onward and upward together to improve patient care.

New Direct Resource

A new resource is now available on HealthIT.gov, providing answers to common questions about Direct. If you or a provider you work with is unsure about what Direct is, or how it’s used to meet meaningful use objectives, this new resource should be your first stop. The resource provides answers to common questions, such as:

What is Direct?
What is a Direct address and how can I get one?
How do I know the Direct address of providers I refer to/need to send patient information to?
Will I get spammed if I share my Direct address with others?
And more!

Using HIE in Disaster Response

Building off of lessons learned after Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, ONC, in collaboration with the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, released a report that makes important recommendations for the use of health information exchange (HIE) to help states and communities in the event of a disaster. In a Buzz blog post posted Wednesday, ONC's Lee Stevens and Rachel Abbey wrote that, building on existing work, we "began to assess opportunities in California and the Gulf Coast to use health information exchange to support disaster preparedness and emergency medical service response."

Read more to learn about our combined efforts to safeguard personal health information when disaster strikes.

PHR Ignite!

In a Thursday blog post, our Health Information Exchange team writes about PHR Ignite, which supported consumer access to health information through projects that encourage the use of various personal health records (PHRs). Read about the various pilot projectsthat allowed consumers to exchange health information, such as Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs), with providers in different care settings. PHR Ignite demonstrates that consumer health information exchange can work in the real world. Learn how patients and caregivers are using PHRs to communicate with providers and take steps to improve their health.

ANSI remains accreditor for Certification Program

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) was tapped Tuesday for a second term as the ONC-Approved Accreditor for the ONC Health IT certification program. Read more about ANSI and in our press release.