The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology has published a draft Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for 2015-2020 for public comment. Comments must be submitted online and are due by February 6, 2015.
There are significant changes in this draft update of the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, compared to the current Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (2011-2015). The draft shifts emphasis away from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act’s electronic health record certification, hospital and provider incentives, and other programs administered by the ONC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to a much broader engagement of 32 federal departments and agencies within and outside of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For example, the draft appropriately references the important work that other federal departments and agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, must still do to expand access to affordable high-speed broadband internet and wireless connectivity for millions of Americans.
The draft also incorporates the significant changes in health care that have resulted from the enactment and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and now uses the triple aim framework of “improve health, health care, and reduce costs through the use of information and technology” as the mission statement for the plan. In recognition of the coming end of dedicated federal funding to support health IT through the HITECH Act, the draft also relies more heavily on private market innovation and incentives to advance its goals, objectives, and strategies
There are five goals and the fourteen objectives in the draft plan:
Goal 1: Expand adoption of health IT
- Objective 1A: Increase the adoption and effective use of health IT products, systems, and services
- Objective 1B: Increase user and market confidence in the safety and safe use of health IT products, systems, and services
- Objective 1C: Advance a national communications infrastructure that supports health, safety, and care delivery
Goal 2: Advance secure and interoperable health information
- Objective 2A: Enable individuals, providers, and public health entities to securely send, receive, find, and use electronic health information
- Objective 2B: Identify, prioritize, and advance technical standards to support secure and interoperable health information
- Objective 2C: Protect the privacy and security of health information
Goal 3: Strengthen health care delivery
- Objective 3A: Improve health care quality, access, and experience through safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and person-centered care
- Objective 3B: Support the delivery of high-value health care
- Objective 3C: Improve clinical and community services and population health
Goal 4: Advance the health and well-being of individuals and communities
- Objective 4A: Empower individual, family, and caregiver health management and engagement
- Objective 4B: Protect and promote public health and healthy, resilient communities
Goal 5: Advance research, scientific knowledge, and innovation
- Objective 5A: Increase access to and usability of high-quality electronic health information and services
- Objective 5B: Accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative technologies and solutions
- Objective 5C: Invest, disseminate, and translate research on how health IT can improve health and health care delivery
Ignatius Bau 