What's Happening in Health IT

What's Happening in Health IT
                              Thanksgiving Edition

In This Issue

• National Family Health History Day
• The Marketplaces Are Open
• New Attestation Deadline for Hospitals
• Federal Advisory Committee Schedule
• Register Today for the ONC Annual Meeting
• SAFER Guides: What You Need to Know

As Thanksgiving approaches, we all have a lot to be thankful for, starting with family and friends. For those of you who follow our Policy and Standards Committee's workgroups, you have a whole cornucopia of upcoming meetings and hearings from which to choose. The rest of us are thankful for all of the successes we have all achieved in helping bring an interoperable health IT infrastructure to our health delivery system.

National Family Health History Day

You might not be aware, but for the past eleven years, Thanksgiving also commemorates Family Health History Day. Tomorrow, when all your relatives are together, take some time to talk about health problems that may run in your family. Read the blog post by Acting Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak, M.D., M.P.H. It is also a perfect time to use the online tool, My Family Health Portrait, to create a record of your family health history.

The Marketplaces Are Open

While you are filling out your family health history, you should take a moment to review you and your family’s health insurance options. This is the perfect time for you and your family to check out HealthCare.gov before Open Enrollment ends on December 15.

New Attestation Deadline for Hospitals

December 31 is the new deadline for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program 2014 reporting year. The deadline for eligible hospitals and CAHs to electronically submit clinical quality measures has also been extended. Check out CMS' Educational Resources for more information.

Federal Advisory Committee Schedule Week of Dec. 1

Monday 
The Health IT Standards Committee's (HITSC) Semantic Standards Workgroup meets at 10am (all times Eastern). The agenda and meeting materials will be posted before the meeting.

The Health IT Policy Committee's (HITPC) Interoperability and HIE Workgroup will meet at 1m. Materials will be posted on HealthIT.gov.Tuesday The HITPC's Advanced Health Models and Meaningful Use Workgroup meets at 9am. Find the materials on HealthIT.gov.WednesdayAt 10:30am, the HITPC's HIT Strategy and Innovation Workgroup meets.

The HITSC's Transport and Security Standards Workgroup meets at 3pm. Materials will be posted before the meeting.Thursday The HITSC's Implementation, Certification and Testing Workgroup meets at 11am. Materials will be posted on the workgroup's webpage.

The HITSC's Architecture, Services and APIs Workgroup meets at 3:30pm.Friday 
The HITPC's Privacy and Security Workgroup holds a virtual hearing from 1 to 5pm. Materials will be posted on HealthIT.gov. A second hearing is scheduled for 1pm on Monday, December 8.

Register Today for the ONC Annual Meeting

ONC's 2015 Annual Meeting will be held February 2-3, 2015, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. The two-day meeting will gather over 1,200 health IT fans, partners and stakeholders for two days of plenaries and breakout sessions, including an exciting panel of ONC's former National Coordinators. Space is limited, so please register as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing you in Washington! Register now and keep checking the Annual Meeting page for updates!

SAFER Guides: What You Need to Know

From 3 – 4pm (ET) Wednesday, December 3, the American Hospital Association will host a webinar on the SAFER Guides – nine guides that identify recommended practices to optimize the safety and safe use of EHRs. Register for the webinar at AHA website.