Certification, Interoperability, Privacy, Clinical Support, & More!

In This Issue

NEW: Bringing Interoperable Medication Lists to Consumers
Today, in partnership with leaders in the private sector, as well as patient and consumer advocates, ONC coordinated a live demonstration of consumer-friendly applications (apps) that import data from some of the largest health information technology (IT) vendors in the country to allow individuals to access a consolidated list of their medications from a variety of sources in one place. The demonstration illustrated the promise of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)—a set of private sector technical standards developed with the strong support of ONC—and took place at the annual Connected Health Conference hosted by the Personal Connected Health Alliance at National Harbor in Maryland.

“We are incredibly encouraged by the advances our private sector partners have made to unlock data and empower individuals when it comes to accessing their medication information,” said B. Vindell Washington, MD, MHCM, national coordinator for health IT. “This is just the latest example of the health IT progress and infrastructure that has resulted from public-private collaboration over the past eight years to improve the health and care of individuals and communities.”

NEW: Privacy Policy Snapshot ChallengeDuring today's conference, ONC also announced the Privacy Policy Snapshot Challenge. The Privacy Policy Snapshot Challenge calls upon developers, designers, health data privacy experts, and creative, out-of-the-box thinkers to use ONC’s Model Privacy Notice template to create an online tool that can generate a user-friendly “snapshot” of a product’s privacy practices. ONC will award a total of $35,000 in prizes through this challenge. Enter your submissions now! The deadline for submission is April 10, 2017 with winners expected to be announced in mid-2017. For more information, view the Federal Register Notice.

Continue the discussion by joining ONC’s Office of the Chief Privacy Officer at the Privacy Policy Snapshot Challenge webinar. The webinar will answer your questions and provide information about the challenge and ONC’s Model Privacy Notice initiative.

Date & Time: Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET Register for the webinar.

Webinar: Health IT Certification - Final RuleJoin ONC for the second of two webinars where the Health IT Certification Program: Enhanced Oversight and Accountability Final Rule will be discussed. The Enhanced Oversight Final Rule updates the ONC Health IT Certification Program by creating a focused ONC direct review regulatory framework, aligning testing lab oversight with the existing processes for ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs), and building a more comprehensive set of publicly available ONC-ACB surveillance results. The Final Rule will be effective on December 19, 2016.

Date & Time: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm ET
Register for the webinar.

Blog Post: How HIPAA Supports Public Health through the Sharing of Electronic Health InformationWe all know that electronic health records provide structured clinical data that help public health workers track, mitigate, and eliminate disease. They also offer us the opportunity to improve health across the country and address public health crises such as Zika, Ebola, lead poisoning, and natural disasters. Many Americans have not taken full advantage of electronic health record data, perhaps because of confusion about how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) interacts with and supports the exchange of electronic health information for the purposes of public health. To address this confusion, we and our colleagues at the and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) published a new fact sheet explaining how providers are permitted to share electronic protected health information (PHI) with public health agencies without obtaining an individual’s written authorization. Read the full blog post at the Health IT Buzz Blog.

FREE Online Training & Continuing Education Courses for Healthcare WorkersONC would like to share the following free, online health IT trainings hosted by numerous institutions across the nation. Registration is open but space is limited at the universities’ discretion. Deadlines to sign up vary by program.

Care Coordination and/or Interoperability of Health IT Systems
Healthcare Data Analytics
- Bellevue College (limited to Veterans Administration Staff Only)
- Columbia University
- Normandale College
- Oregon Health & Science University
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Patient Centered Care
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Population Health
Value Based Care

Surgeon General Issues Landmark Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health

“How we respond to this crisis is a test for America.”

A new, landmark Surgeon General’s report on the state of addiction in the United States finds alcohol and drug misuse and related disorders to be one of America’s most pressing public health concerns. Nearly 21 million Americans – more than the number of people who have all cancers combined – suffer from substance use disorders. Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, marks the first time a U.S. Surgeon General has dedicated a report to the issue. The report proposes cross-sector solutions to improve prevention, treatment and recovery services - including an emphasis on implementing health information technologies to promote efficiency and high-quality care and commending the use of PDMPs by providers. Check out the key findings of the report and download supplementary materials.

NEW: CDC RFI Seeks Input on Adherence to Clinical Guidelines and Information FlowThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seeks to help improve adherence to clinical guidelines and information flow between public health and healthcare entities. CDC is seeking your input in a Request for Information (RFI) to better understand the challenges and opportunities for public health, and in particular the CDC, can positively impact clinical decision making. The RFI is available at FedBizOpps.gov (search solicitation # 2017-RFI-CDS-0001). Questions about the RFI are due by 2 PM on January 6, 2016, via email to Lauren Peel. Responses are due by 2 PM on January 20, 2016, to Lauren Peel.

Upcoming Federal Advisory Committee MeetingJoint: Consumer Task ForceDate & Time: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 2:00pm – 3:30pm ET