Information Technology
Governance of Nationwide HIT Network
Clouded as Companies Balk at A-2 Rule
Just what organization will monitor and guide efforts to establish a nationwide health information network (NHIN) is up in the air, board members of the entity known as AHIC Successor Inc. learned Dec. 9.
The charter of AHIC Successor Inc. (A-2), established at the behest of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt, calls for the NHIN development effort to be governed by A-2. The private sector entity made up of public and private sector members has replaced the HHS advisory board known as America's Health Information Community.
A-2 is charged with coordinating the development of technologies that will advance the adoption of electronic medical records systems capable of sharing data with disparate EMR systems. HHS plans for the NHIN to be the nationwide backbone over which electronic health information will travel long distances for clinical use.
Robert Kolodner, HHS's national coordinator for health information technology and an ex-officio A-2 board member, told the board meeting that the companies working to develop the NHIN want to be independent of A-2. Kolodner said the Office of the National Coordinator is working with the NHIN group on the governance issue, but said it will probably not be settled until well into 2009.
A-2's over-arching goal is to foster development of technology that uses EMRs to improve the quality and efficiency of medical care. It also aims for the technology to help people take better care of themselves and their loved ones, and to improve public health and health research. The technology development projects will be known as value cases.
January Kick-Off, Value Cases Planned.
The A-2 board has major plans for January, including announcing a new name for the organization, inviting members to join it, and officially soliciting proposals for value cases.
Board member John Glaser, chief information officer at Partners Health Care, said A-2's primary task will be to solicit, select, prioritize, and oversee value case development.
One value case is already under way, a project that aims to create a process whereby de-identified electronic medical records are used to vastly speed up clinical and public health research. Current paper-based research methods take years to obtain usable findings.
The research value case is being funded in part by several large academic medical centers. Glaser suggested that organizations proposing value cases and providing at least some of the necessary funding have a good chance of having their proposals developed, as long the benefits of the technology will be of broad benefit.
HHS currently is funding A-2's operations but the department calls for A-2 to be self-sustaining within two years.
By Jeff Day
Copyright©2008 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. | 
