Blumenthal Looks Ahead to Future Topics and New Workgroups
on HIT Policy and Standards Committees: Slide Set Info
Joseph Conn reported for Modern Healthcare/HITS, October 28, 2009, on the look ahead that National Coordinator of Healthcare IT David Blumenthal presented the prior day at the HIT Policy Committee. Two items that Blumenthal declared high priorities were development of a national policy for health information privacy and security and as Conn wrote a “fresh look at continued development of the proposed National Health Information Network, or NHIN.”

Information from the slides Blumenthal used are presented below.
Here’s a link to the Slide set (ppt) posted on ONC HIT Policy Committee site.

FUTURE TOPICS
HIT Policy Committee:

1. Privacy and Security*
2. 2013 and 2015 MU Objectives
3. Adoption – EHR/HIT
4. Standards Process
5. NHIN and State HIEs*
6. Strategic Plan
7. Gaps in Measurements
8. Medicaid MU (coordinate with CMS)

HIT Standards Committee:

1. Gaps in Standards
2. 2013 and 2015 Certification Standards
3. Implementation and Adoption of Standards*
4. Process to Support NHIN
5. Privacy and Security Standards *
6. Retooling Clinical Measurements for EHR*Boldface: Time Sensitive Topics

PROPOSED WORKGROUPS
HIT Policy Committee Workgroups

1. Meaningful Use*
2. Adoption of HIT/EHR
3. Privacy and Security [new]*
4. NHIN and HIEs [new]*
5. Strategic Planning [new]

HIT Standards Committee Workgroups

1. Implementation and Adoption of Standards*
2. Privacy and Security*
3. Clinical Measures
4. Clinical Operations

*Boldface: Workgroups that need to be active now

• NOTE: Policy & Standards Committee Workgroups will share Policy Committee and Standards Committee members.

High-level Plan for Priority Topics for HIT Policy Committee (PC), Standards Committee (SC)  and their Workgroups

• Privacy and Security (PC and SC)

               –  Create new Privacy & Security Workgroup under Policy Committee to focus on these issues; add consumer representatives
              – Ask the P&S Policy Committee Workgroup to create recommendations  based on results of the September Privacy hearing
              – Continue leveraging HIT Standards Committee Privacy and Security Workgroup to focus on Standards – security hearing is scheduled on  November 19, 2009

• NHIN and HIEs (PC)+

               – Create new NHIN Workgroup ( may include members from the current IE Workgroup); add other necessary experts
               – Hold inaugural Workgroup in-person meeting early November; present  issues, recommendations at December Policy Committee meeting

• Meaningful Use Specialists Measures (PC)

             – Continue to leverage MU WG
             – Hearing is scheduled for October 27 and 28 on specialties, small practices

• Implementation/Adoption Workgroup (SC)

               – New Implementation WG has been launched under the leadership of Aneesh Chopra
               – Public hearing on October 29^th to hear adoption experiences; and web-site for public input will launch at that time

• HIT Policy Committee and HIT Standards Committee

              – Both FACA committees will receive briefing from ONC on broad strategies; ONC programs and evaluation plans Dec 2009/Jan 2010

• Strategic Planning Workgroup (PC and SC)

              – Consider framework/guiding principles for work of PC and SC with respect to creation of Nation-wide, interoperable, private and security health information system.
               – Relate that framework to strategic plan for work of ONC.
               – Begin work on recommendations for ONC concerning a strategic plan