This Week's News on HealthIT.gov

This Week's News on HealthIT.gov

The big news of the week for those of us in ONC — and we like to think many others across the country — was an issue of the journal Health Affairs that focused on the importance of helping patients get involved in their own health care.  And one article all about health IT and patient engagement was authored by our consumerista team.

The gist of it can be summed up this way: "The full potential of consumer e-health is far from realized," wrote Lygeia Riccardi, ONC's top consumerista, with other members of the ONC team, including National Coordinator Dr. Farzad Mostashari.

You can read the entire paper here: http://www.healthit.gov/newsroom/health-it-news
Catch up with the Chief Science Officer
In case you missed any of the blog posts by the Doug Fridsma, ONC's chief scientist, we now have them posted on one, easy-to-find page. http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/desk-chief-science-officer.   It's a quick way to catch up on the discussion and to learn about interoperability and exchange.
EHR Adoption
Why adopt EHRs?  Having a single record that includes a patient's health information puts providers in a better position to work with their patients to make good decisions. Electronic health record (EHR) adoption requires investment of time and money, but the benefits often outweigh the costs, and financial incentives are available to help providers make the transition.  Read more about the benefits of adopting EHRs on HealthIT.gov.

For more data and information, visit the EHR implementation lifecycle steps and check out the National Learning Consortium (NLC)  
Dashboard update
The Health IT Dashboard for Meaningful Use was updated this week. The dashboard now includes CMS summary report data through December 2012, and detailed local maps of CMS's recently released Public Use Files showing the location of Medicare paid eligible professionals and hospitals.  Visit the Health IT Dashboard to see how Health IT is improving your community! http://dashboard.healthit.gov  
Workforce 
In anticipation of the continued growth in electronic health records adoption, ONC has produced a new report on Community College site visits and the steps they are taking to train new tech-savvy workers. Learn more about the workforce program here: http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/reports#reports-hit-workforce-development
Reminder: Town Hall
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Join Dr Farzad Mostashari and senior staff at ONC for an open listening session on governance of health information exchange Thursday, Feb. 14. This town hall will provide an overview of ONC's planned HIE governance activities along with an opportunity for participant stakeholders to provide feedback.  Input will be used to inform ONC activities and assist in advancing governance goals of nationwide health information exchange: increase interoperability, decrease the cost and complexity of exchange, and increase trust among participants to mobilize trusted exchange to support patient care.  Come prepared to share your ideas!

This free webinar – being co-hosted by the National eHealth Collaborative — begins at 3:00 p.m. EST sharp and runs to 4:30 p.m.  Sign up now, before it fills up.

Register to attend the Town Hall.