HHS trend scan will signal potential health IT breakthroughs

The Health and Human Services Department plans to develop and maintain a continuous scan of current and emerging health information technology innovations to help HHS agencies understand and be aware of potential breakthroughs in healthcare delivery.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT will collect information about technology trends along with subject-matter experts and health IT innovators and developers, according to a Dec.30 announcement in Federal Business Opportunities. HHS will use a vendor to support the innovation scanning effort. ONC will update the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on the development of the most promising health IT innovations that may support the achievement of meaningful use and the adoption of health IT, as well as other program efforts that will be affected by technological advances. This exchange will offer the systematic identification of health IT innovations that tackle critical problems in areas of care delivery as well as the early identification of emerging, breakthrough advances that may shape policy and technology initiatives, the announcement said.