In awaiting meaningful use, ONC's hands not idle

While the Health and Human Services Department must still rule on the definition, standards and certification requirements for meaningful use, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and its advisory team are moving ahead with plans for next year and beyond. "We are beginning to think about what follows and the implementation of programs under way and some of the thorny issues we will be dealing with in the implementation process," said Dr. David Blumenthal, the national health IT coordinator. At a Dec. 15 meeting of ONC's Health IT Policy Committee, Dr. Paul Tang, the panel co-chairman, said that it will hold hearings in early 2010 so that public and private healthcare providers and other organizations can contribute to the development of 2013 and 2015 meaningful use criteria. In January, representatives of states will offer their view of barriers and prospects for information exchange in their regions and coordination with federal health IT programs. In February, experts will be invited to discuss sharing data, including outcomes, with patients and their families. Meanwhile, the healthcare IT community awaits the product of a year's work by ONC and its advisors: federal meaningful use rules that will govern a good portion of health IT investment and development over the next five years.