The Office Of The National Coordinator
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, abbreviated ONC, is a position within the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The position was created by Executive Order in 2004 and written into legislation by the HITECH Act. The ONC’s purpose is to promote a national health Information Technology infrastructure and oversee its development.
The ONC’s mission involves many aspects of health information technology (HIT), including policy coordination, strategic planning for the adoption of health IT and health information exchanges (HIE), establishing governance for the Nationwide Health Information Network and, above all, promoting a national health IT infrastructure. This last mission, according to the ONC, aims, among other things, to improve the quality of health care while reducing costs; improve the coordination of care and information among hospitals, labs, physicians and other health care organizations; ensure that personal health records (PHR) remain secure, and promote the early detection, prevention and management of chronic illness.
For the ONC to do its work, significant upgrades to health IT systems across the country will be necessary. To that end, and in response to provisions of the HITECH Act, the ONC drafted an interim final rule for an initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for electronic health record (EHR) systems. This rule was released on Dec. 30, 2009, which was the same day the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, released a notice of proposed rulemaking for meaningful use. Health care providers must demonstrate meaningful use of a certified EHR system in order to qualify for financial incentives under the HITECH Act. Both sets of rules are open to public comment and will be finalized later in 2010, with the first awards to hospitals and eligible health care providers coming in 2011.
Also in response to the HITECH Act, the ONC is
The ONC’s mission involves many aspects of health information technology (HIT), including policy coordination, strategic planning for the adoption of health IT and health information exchanges (HIE), establishing governance for the Nationwide Health Information Network and, above all, promoting a national health IT infrastructure. This last mission, according to the ONC, aims, among other things, to improve the quality of health care while reducing costs; improve the coordination of care and information among hospitals, labs, physicians and other health care organizations; ensure that personal health records (PHR) remain secure, and promote the early detection, prevention and management of chronic illness.
For the ONC to do its work, significant upgrades to health IT systems across the country will be necessary. To that end, and in response to provisions of the HITECH Act, the ONC drafted an interim final rule for an initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for electronic health record (EHR) systems. This rule was released on Dec. 30, 2009, which was the same day the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, released a notice of proposed rulemaking for meaningful use. Health care providers must demonstrate meaningful use of a certified EHR system in order to qualify for financial incentives under the HITECH Act. Both sets of rules are open to public comment and will be finalized later in 2010, with the first awards to hospitals and eligible health care providers coming in 2011.
Also in response to the HITECH Act, the ONC is