What's Happening in Health IT

In This Issue

Announcing the CCDA Rendering Tool Challenge

HL7and ONC recently announced the launch of the CCDA Rendering Tool Challenge, incentivizing the development of tools that display CCDA documents in ways that better serve providers. Currently, many clinicians are frustrated with the usability of CCDA documents because an overabundance of data is rendered, and the providers then sort through all of the data to find what they need. A viewer that makes relevant information easier to view would save clinicians' time and insure they do not miss critical information for making decisions. Submissions are due May 31, 2016, and winners will be announced at HL7’s 30th Annual Plenary Meeting in Baltimore, MD, in September. Visit the challenge website to learn more and sign-up for the informational webinar on February 4!

ONC Recently Adopted 2015 Edition Criteria for Testing and Certification under the Health IT Certification Program

The 2015 Edition Final Test Method has been posted and can be accessed on the ONC Health IT Certification Program webpage. The Final Test Method outlines the requirements for evaluating conformance of health IT Modules to the certification criteria defined in the ONC 2015 Edition Final Rule (45 CFR Part 170 Subpart II) published in the Federal Register on October 16, 2015. The ONC-approved test procedures are constructed in an outcome-focused format with complementary companion guide documents to aid stakeholder development of health IT Modules. The Test Method includes test procedures developed by ONC, and test data and conformance test tools developed by partnering agencies. The test procedures are scheduled to be released in two waves; the first on January 8, 2016, and the second by the end of January 2016.

In Preparation for Testing ONC Publishes Certification Companion Guides

ONC has also published Certification Companion Guides (CCGs) to accompany the 2015 Edition test procedures and assist with product development in preparation for testing and certification. The Certification Companion Guides will be updated as needed, and we are pleased to announce updates for the following CCGs are now available on our site:

Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) – laboratory
Drug-drug, drug-allergy interaction checks for CPOE
Demographics
Problem list
Medication list
Medication allergy list
Clinical decision support
Drug-formulary and preferred drug list checks
Smoking status
Family health history
Patient-specific education resources
Implantable device list
Audit report(s)
Emergency access
Patient health information capture
Transmission to public health agencies – reportable laboratory tests and values/results
Transmission to public health agencies – antimicrobial use and resistance reporting.

SAMHSA Request for Proposal (RFP) to Share Information between Opioid Treatment Programs

This SAMHSA RFP focuses on the sharing of dosing information between opioid treatment programs (OTPs) during disruptions in service. The objective is to facilitate patients’ ability to share specific opioid treatment information in cases of care discontinuity in a manner that is sensitive to privacy concerns under 42 CFR Part 2 regulations, through a health information exchange (HIE) organization.

Both HIEs and OTPs are eligible to submit applications. All applicants must have a participating HIE organization and OTPs as part of their solution. The selected project team will be awarded an as-yet-to-be determined amount (funded through September 17, 2016) to reimburse costs incurred by the HIE (or organization with similar capabilities) awardee and participating OTPs. The application must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, February 15, 2016. The winning awardee will be announced in early March 2016. Visit SAMHSA website for more information. You can also contact LCDR Dina Passman, SAMHSA Public Health Advisor at otpdemo@feisystems.com.

NIDA Challenge “Addiction Research: There’s an App for that’ is Under Way

On November 3, 2015, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced the Challenge, ‘‘Addiction Research: There’s an App for that”. This challenge aligns with ONCs learning health system, pulling information from a variety of data points to better inform and improve individual, community and population health. With this Challenge, NIDA aims to develop novel mobile applications (apps) for future addiction research explicitly created on Apple Inc.’s Research Kit framework. Research Kit is open-source software which makes it easy for researchers and developers to create apps for specific biomedical research questions by circumventing development of custom code. The Submission Period: November 3, 2015 to April 29, 2016, 11:59 p.m., ET. Judging Period: May 2, 2016 to July 29, 2016. Winners Announced: August 1, 2016. Submissions are due by April 29, 2016 and more information can be found by going to the federal register notice.

Integrating Behavioral Health Data into HIEs (Webinar Recording Now Available)

ONC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration held a free webinar on December 16, 2015, about the benefits of integrating behavioral health data into Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). The webinar focused on how these data are being integrated into primary care systems in a way that ensures the privacy and confidentiality of this sensitive information. View the webinar.

ESAC Inc. Battelle Memorial Institute Reintroduces the eCQI Resource Center

The eCQI Resource Center is a one-stop shop for the most current resources to support electronic clinical quality improvement. The website provides a centralized location for critical clinical quality measure resources, including the electronic clinical quality measures and their specifications, links to tools for measure development, testing, and clinical decision support (CDS). Register for a live demonstration of the website Wednesday, January 27, 2016, at 3:00-4:00 EST.

If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact Jessica Sanford at sanford@battelle.org or 614-326-1704

2016 National Health and Human Services Summit, APHSA Call for Presentations

In 2016 the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is transforming the Forum into the National Health and Human Services Summit. The Call for Presentations for the newly designed APHSA National Health and Human Services Summit is now open! Some submissions may be selected to be part of a "Ted-style" or "Speed Dating" with 15 minute rapid-fire presentations. This fast moving session promises to be exciting and will allow attendees to maximize their exposure to several great presentations. Proposals are due by Friday, January 22, 2016.

Deliverable Schedule:

Call for Submissions December 27, 2015 – January 22, 2016
Review of Submissions Completed by February 5, 2016
Notification to Accepted Speakers February 12, 2016
Final Power Points Required for Conference App May 6, 2016

The Summit will be May 22 - 25, 2016, at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, VA.

CONNECT is Officially Recognized as an EHealth Exchange-Validated System

The eHealth Exchange completed the review of CONNECT under its Product Testing program in December. Because CONNECT completed and passed all product testing, it can officially be recognized as an eHealth Exchange Validated System. As an eHealth Exchange Validated Product, CONNECT will be listed on Sequoia Project's eHealth Exchange website. Visit the Sequoia Project for more information on eHealth Exchange Validated systems.