2010 ONC Update Meeting December 14-15

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and other HHS agencies are dedicated to improving the nation’s health care through health information technology (health IT). Since the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was signed into law in February 2009, we have established a number of initiatives that will help make it possible for providers to achieve meaningful use and for Americans to benefit from electronic health records as part of a modernized, interconnected, and vastly improved system of care delivery. This year alone, we have established a number of important policies and programs to help lay the foundation for providers to begin their journey toward meaningful use. These include:  Temporary Certification Program, to authorize organizations to test and certify EHR technology and to establish the processes used for that purpose. Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule, which outlines the capabilities EHR technologies must include to support achievement of meaningful use Stage 1 under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records Final Rule [PDF - 14 MB], released by CMS in July, to provide health professionals and hospitals with guidelines on how to adopt and use electronic health record technology in a meaningful way and how to qualify for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Certified Health IT Product List (Version 1.0), which identifies EHR technologies that have been tested and certified as being technically capable of supporting those providers’ achievement of meaningful use based on Stage 1 criteria outlined in HHS rules [PDF - 14 MB]. It’s been a busy year for health IT at HHS. We are looking forward to discussing more about all of our HITECH initiatives to date, as well as our future activities, at the upcoming 2010 ONC Update Meeting on December 14 and 15. Over the course of this two-day meeting, we are offering a number of sessions that will give participants a better understanding of the HITECH regulations and the role that HITECH plays in health system change and health care reform. Some session topics include: HITECH programs that support providers in achieving meaningful use How HITECH initiatives will promote consumer empowerment and public engagement Privacy and security policies Our panelists and invited speakers include HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and leaders from CDC, CMS, OCR, ONC and organizations who have a stake in our work. We are excited about the opportunity to share information and ideas. The plenary sessions at this meeting will be streamed through a live webcast. Details about the webcast are available on the ONC website: http://healthit.hhs.gov/ONCMeeting2010. Thank you in advance for joining us at the 2010 ONC Update Meeting and for supporting our vision of a higher quality, safer, and more efficient health care system enabled by health information technology. Sincerely, David Blumenthal, MD, MPP National Coordinator for Health Information Technology