The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has announced that it will award funds to groups that are working to develop governance standards for health information exchange, NextGov's "Health IT Update" reports (Pulley, "Health IT Update," NextGov, 12/27/12).
In September 2012, ONC announced that it would not issue federal regulations for health information exchange but instead would support other organizations' efforts to establish health data exchange governance.
Details of the Funding
The new funding initiative aims to help ONC collaborate with groups already developing data exchange governance to:
- Increase the interoperability of health data systems;
- Reduce the costs and complexity of sharing patient data; and
- Ensure the privacy and security of patient data (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 12/21/12).
The awards range from $200,000 to $400,000, according to the announcement (Robeznieks, Modern Healthcare, 12/27/12).
On Jan. 7, ONC plans to hold a technical assistance call for organizations interested in applying for the funds. Applications will be due Feb. 4.
ONC Announces Other Data Exchange Initiatives
In a "Health IT Buzz" blog post, National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari outlined several other ONC initiatives designed to support health data exchange governance. They include:
- Conducting a public hearing on Jan. 29 to further explore the current state of health data exchange;
- Hosting an open listening session in January on the governance of health data exchange;
- Working with the National eHealth Collaborative to convene stakeholder groups to work on health data exchange governance issues; and
- Publishing guidance on health data exchange governance and launching a monitoring program to ensure that the governance goals are being met (Government Health IT, 12/21/12).