New This Week on HealthIT.gov

In This Issue

Here's hoping that everyone is preparing for the official kick off of summer and remembers the reason for Memorial Day is not to break out the grills, but to honor those brave Americans who fought and died defending and protecting our freedoms. In other words, it is For Those Who Gave All (FTWGA).

Certified EHR Proposed Rule

Earlier this week, CMS and ONC published a new proposed rule that would extend Stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs by one year and allow Stage 3 to begin in 2017. The proposed rule also would allow providers to use 2011 Edition Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT) or a combination of 2011 and 2014 Edition CEHRT for the EHR reporting period in 2014 . The proposed rule includes a chart that identifies the CEHRT and stage options that would be available to providers who are not able to fully implement 2014 CEHRT systems in 2014. Please take time to read the proposed rule and submit your comments. The comment period ends at 5 p.m. EDT on July 21, 2014. Read more in the joint ONC/CMS news release.

Federal Advisory Committee Schedule Week of May 24

Tuesday
The Health IT Policy Committee (HITPC) Meaningful Use Workgroup meets at 10 am (all times are EDT). The Privacy & Security Tiger Team meets at 2pm.
Wednesday
The HITPC's Certification/Adoption Workgroup meets at 9am.
Thursday
A series of four meetings kicks off at 9 am with the HITPC Safety Task Force, followed at 11am by the Health IT Standards Committee's Standards Implementation Workgroup, the HITPC Accountable Care Workgroup at 1:30pm and the Standards Committee's NwHIN Power Team at 3pm.

Blue Button workshops at Health Datapalooza 14

If you are attending Health Datapalooza which begins next weekend, join the ONC Consumer Team on Sunday June 1st, for the Blue Button Workshop. It will be an opportunity for you to provide us with input into the evolution of the BlueButton+ Implementation Guide. We are now working towards updating and building on the work the community has done to by offering technical guidance for pharmacies, labs, and other data sources which are increasingly involved in the Blue Button Initiative. We are also expanding the guide to include some resources for direct-to-consumer marketing. Don’t miss out! Information about registering can be found here:http://healthdatapalooza.org/registration/ or email datapalooza@courtesyassoc.com.

Listening session on privacy of drug/alcohol patient data

To get your take on potential changes to the confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records Regulations (42 CFR Part 2.) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) announced a public listening session to be held in Rockville, Maryland on Wednesday, June 11, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, EDT.

Read more in the Federal Register about SAMHSA's efforts. Questions? E-mailPrivacyRegulations@SAMHSA.hhs.gov.

Accountable Care Case Study — MedChi Network Services

See how to start and maintain an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) by reading about the processes and infrastructure MedChi Network Services (MNS) has implemented to support the success of its three ACOs!

Primary Care Symposium on Aging

Join The National Center for Health and the Aging and our own Fadesola Adetosoye at the 2014 National Primary Care Symposium on Aging on June 9 at the Westin Alexandria in Alexandria, Virginia. This year's symposium "Cornerstones for Improving Senior Health Outcomes: Outreach, Enrollment and Community Partnerships" represents the efforts that must be made to address the needs of aging adults.