This Week's News on HealthIT.gov Ultra Large-Scale Systems and Interoperability In his ongoing quest to explain all things interoperable, this week ONC's Chief Scientist Doug Fridsma penned a blog post about a 2003 report on Ultra Large-Scare Systems that sheds some light on why interoperability is a complex challenge facing the health IT industry. Fridsma quotes from the report, published by the Software Engineering Institute: "As more and more systems become interconnected and have to work together, how do we manage an interacting code base that exceeds 1 billion lines of code? The reality is that different health IT systems (when they are connected together and interoperable) could collectively represent much more than 1 billion lines of code," he writes. Dr. Fridsma reiterated his vision of our interoperability strategy in relation to this challenge: that the country will not have one "top-down" approach to achieving interoperability, but rather an "ecosystem" of solutions that make interoperability a reality for the nation. Another blog post from our own Brett Andriesen includes an interview with a Michigan orthopedic surgeon who explains how HIE can help cut down on patient frustrations as they try and navigate the often byzantine corridors of our health-care system – and what’s being done in Michigan to help install those exchanges Health IT Success Stories What is Health Information Exchange (HIE) and how does it impact my practice? Find resources and learn more about HIE, the benefits, and how to get started on the following pages: •Health Information Exchange •What is HIE? •HIE Benefits •Nationwide HIE Strategy •Getting Started with HIE For more data and information, visit the EHR implementation lifecycle steps and check out the National Learning Consortium (NLC). HIT Policy Committee FDASIA Workgroup openings We are looking for a few good men and women to staff the HIT Policy Committee’s Food and Drug Administration Safety Innovation Act Workgroup. The workgroup will be providing "expert input" to ONC, FDA and FCC, developing a proposed strategy and recommendations for a Tri-Agency Report. Applications will be accepted until March 8. Please apply for workgroup membership now. Transition of care MU measures help is available We posted a new meaningful use education video that explores the often problem-ridden "transition of care" or "hand-off" of care from the perspective of meaningful use and EHR technology certification. The video walks policy researchers and implementers through the requirements for the meaningful use transitions of care objective and measures as well as their relationship to EHR technology certification. HIE and Co-ops ONC's HIE team posted a new new report synthesizing the experiences of five states that have created health information exchange and another report breaks down physician focus group results and paints a picture of how practicing doctors view HIE. How to implement an EHR While it’s not new, we wanted to remind you that we have some handy tools to help you select and implement and electronic record. ONC has created a six-step process that starts with an assessment of a practices readiness, planning an approach, the selection or upgrading to a certified HER, training and implementation of the HER, achievement of meaningful use and, finally, continuing quality improvement. Please peruse our website, www.healthit.gov, for other tools and training modules that can help as you try and adopt an HIT system.

Health IT as an Ultra Large-Scale System | Health IT Buzz Michigan HIE Bright Spots: Improving Quality and Health Care Efficiency —One Doctor’s Experience with Exchanging Information and Capacity Building | Health IT Buzz This Week's News on HealthIT.gov Ultra Large-Scale Systems and Interoperability In his ongoing quest to explain all things interoperable, this week ONC's Chief Scientist Doug Fridsma penned a blog post about a 2003 report on Ultra Large-Scare Systems that sheds some light on why interoperability is a complex challenge facing the health IT industry. Fridsma quotes from the report, published by the Software Engineering Institute: "As more and more systems become interconnected and have to work together, how do we manage an interacting code base that exceeds 1 billion lines of code? The reality is that different health IT systems (when they are connected together and interoperable) could collectively represent much more than 1 billion lines of code," he writes. Dr. Fridsma reiterated his vision of our interoperability strategy in relation to this challenge: that the country will not have one "top-down" approach to achieving interoperability, but rather an "ecosystem" of solutions that make interoperability a reality for the nation. Another blog post from our own Brett Andriesen includes an interview with a Michigan orthopedic surgeon who explains how HIE can help cut down on patient frustrations as they try and navigate the often byzantine corridors of our health-care system – and what’s being done in Michigan to help install those exchanges Health IT Success Stories What is Health Information Exchange (HIE) and how does it impact my practice? Find resources and learn more about HIE, the benefits, and how to get started on the following pages: Health Information Exchange What is HIE? HIE Benefits Nationwide HIE Strategy Getting Started with HIE For more data and information, visit the EHR implementation lifecycle steps and check out the National Learning Consortium (NLC). HIT Policy Committee FDASIA Workgroup openings We are looking for a few good men and women to staff the HIT Policy Committee’s Food and Drug Administration Safety Innovation Act Workgroup. The workgroup will be providing "expert input" to ONC, FDA and FCC, developing a proposed strategy and recommendations for a Tri-Agency Report. Applications will be accepted until March 8. Please apply for workgroup membership now. Transition of care MU measures help is available We posted a new meaningful use education video that explores the often problem-ridden "transition of care" or "hand-off" of care from the perspective of meaningful use and EHR technology certification. The video walks policy researchers and implementers through the requirements for the meaningful use transitions of care objective and measures as well as their relationship to EHR technology certification. HIE and Co-ops ONC's HIE team posted a new new report synthesizing the experiences of five states that have created health information exchange and another report breaks down physician focus group results and paints a picture of how practicing doctors view HIE. How to implement an EHR While it’s not new, we wanted to remind you that we have some handy tools to help you select and implement and electronic record. ONC has created a six-step process that starts with an assessment of a practices readiness, planning an approach, the selection or upgrading to a certified HER, training and implementation of the HER, achievement of meaningful use and, finally, continuing quality improvement. Please peruse our website, www.healthit.gov, for other tools and training modules that can help as you try and adopt an HIT system.