Health IT coordinator to harmonize record standards, network

The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology said today he intends to "harmonize" certified electronic health records standards within the National Health Information Network (NHIN). "We are working on continuing the momentum of the NHIN and Connect," the NHIN software, Dr. David Blumenthal, who is based at the Health and Human Services Department, said at a Connect users conference. Blumenthal, who started work as national health IT coordinator in March, has been charged with recommending standards for "meaningful use" of certified Electronic Health Records under the economic stimulus law. The law provides financial incentives to doctors and hospitals who meaningfully use such record systems. One of the criteria for meaningful use is sharing patient data within a health information exchange system, most likely the NHIN, Blumenthal said. NHIN is a network-of-networks patient data exchange system developed under the Bush administration that is currently being used by the Veterans Administration and Social Security Administration, among others.