New This Week on HealthIT.gov

In This Issue

Open Test Method Development Pilot Program

Ever been struck by a great idea for making ONC's test procedures more user-friendly or streamlined? We've just launched a pilot program to help you share those ideas with us. ONC's Open Test Method Development Pilot Program asks you to put your valuable experience to work for the health IT community. You can help us develop test methods that reflect your expertise and concerns, making the next generation of testing more transparent and relevant than ever. Check out the pilot program, and start thinking about which test procedures could be ripe for a reboot!

Federal Advisory Committee Schedule Week of July 21

Thursday

The Health IT Standards Committee's Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) meets at 3:30 pm EDT. Agenda and materials will be available on HealthIT.gov at:http://www.healthit.gov/facas/calendar/2014/07/24/standards-nwhin-power-team

CAHs Report Challenges, Yet Forge Ahead with Advance Health IT Capabilities

An article in the July issue of Health Affairs reports on the progress and challenges Critical Access Hospitals are facing as they adopt advanced health IT capabilities. The capabilities evaluated in this study include: telehealth, teleradiology, care coordination and health information exchange with other providers and patients. In this blog post, ONC's Leila Samy, Meghan Gabriel, and Jennifer King summarize some of the key findings of the paper, and feature some of the ongoing public/private collaborative efforts to address the challenges faced by rural providers nationwide.

For those not subscribed to Health Affairs, the blog posting includes a link to the full paper and all its graphics.

Fall Internship With ONC Open

ONC is now accepting applications for interns for the Fall. While this position is anunpaid, voluntary position, there may be stipends, credit, or other assistance available through your college or university. Submit your cover letter, and resume to:onc.hc@hhs.gov. For more information, see http://www.healthit.gov/newsroom/internship.

Annual Safeguarding Health Information Conference

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) are co-hosting the 7th annual Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security, on September 23 & 24, 2014 here in Washington, D.C. The conference will also be webcast.

The conference will offer sessions exploring security management and technical assurance of electronic health information. Presentations will cover a variety of current topics including updates on the Omnibus HIPAA/HITECH Final Rule, breach management, strengthening cybersecurity in the health care sector, integrating security safeguards into health IT, managing risk, securing mobile devices, and more.

You can visit the conference web page for more information and to register.