ONC Goes to Washington

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Posted By: Roberta Mullin July 30, 2013

ONC Testifies to the Senate and Reports to CongressONC Testifies to the Senate and Reports to Congress

Well I know, the ONC is already in Washington but they have been spending some time on Capitol Hill lately. Here are some recent reports to Congress and testimonies to the Senate on Health IT adoption.

In June the ONC submitted a report to Congress, Update on the Adoption of Health Information Technology and Related Efforts to Facilitate the Electronic Use and Exchange of Health Information. This report provides:

  • updates on the adoption of health IT
  • efforts of CMS and ONC to facilitate nationwide adoption and exchange of electronic health information; and
  • identification and discussion of barriers to the adoption and exchange of electronic clinical data and how ONC’s programs are addressing those barriers.

On July 17 the US Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, Health Information Technology: A Building Block to Quality Health Care. The ONC Farzad Mostashari, MD testified before the Committee on Finance US Senate. Dr. Mostashari discussed how health IT benefits patients and provides the tools necessary to transform the delivery of care. In his opening statement he says, “Already, America’s health care providers have made significant progress expanding health information technology use. Through incentives and other approaches supported by HITECH, we have seen clear evidence that the healthcare community is increasingly using health IT to improve care and change the way it is delivered.” Patrick Conway, MD, MSc, Chief Medical Officer and Director, Center for Clinical Standards and Quality; and Acting Director, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also testified at this hearing.

On July 24 the US Senate Finance Committee held a second hearing, Health Information Technology: Using it to Improve Care. The committee heard from Ms. Janet Marchibroda, Director, Health Innovation Initiative, Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, DC, Dr. John Glaser, Phd, Chief Executive Officer, Health Services, Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, PA, Mr. Marty Fattig, Administrator and Chief Executive Officer, Nemaha County Hospital, Auburn, NE, Dr. Colin Banas, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer and Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.