The AHIC seeks public comment

[rninformatics, DNP, RN]

Please provide comment from the Nursing perspective - see below

From: http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/documents/m20070731/7a_whitepaper.html

White Paper

American Health Information Community Successor

July 2007

Introduction

American Health Information Community

The American Health Information Community (AHIC) is a federal advisory

body chartered in 2005 to make recommendations to the Secretary of the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on how to accelerate

the development and adoption of health information technology. The

advisory nature of AHIC and its Workgroups has been invaluable in

creating a forum to seek input and guidance to understand key issues and

policy implications necessary to achieve President Bush's goal for most

Americans to have access to secure electronic health records by 2014.

The AHIC charter requires responsibilities to be transferred to a

successor. Therefore, the AHIC is embarking upon a project that will

take the Community to the next level. The AHIC successor will be an

independent and sustainable public-private partnership bringing together

the best attributes and resources of public and private entities. This

new public-private partnership will develop a unified approach to

realize an effective, interoperable nationwide health information

system[FN1] that supports the health and well-being of individuals and

communities in the U.S.

This white paper describes the vision for and attributes of a successor

to the American Health Information Community (AHIC). Specifically, it

describes the purpose and scope of a successor entity, presents

governance and operating objectives, and highlights several legal

considerations associated with the formation of the AHIC successor.[FN2]

The AHIC seeks public comment on the contents of this white paper.

Specific instructions for providing comments are available on the AHIC

successor web page:

http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/community/background/AHICsuccessor.html.

Recognizing that interoperability is critical to realizing both

improvements in quality and efficiency in the U.S. health system, and

understanding the importance of continuity of leadership to maintaining

the AHIC's momentum toward achieving interoperability, the Health and

Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health

Information Technology (ONC) will engage with the private sector to

seamlessly transition the locus of activity from a Federal advisory

committee to an independent public-private partnership that is focused

on achieving interoperability across the health care system.

Between now and the Spring of 2008, AHIC members and AHIC Workgroups

will continue efforts to identify obstacles to the adoption of

interoperable health information technology (IT) and make specific

recommendations to the Secretary of (HHS). At the same time, HHS has

embarked upon an effort that will take AHIC to the next level by

facilitating the development of an independent public-private

partnership that is results-oriented, inclusive, and coordinated with

quality and transparency initiatives. The new entity will build on the

AHIC achievements and will require exceptional leadership as well as a

broad base of both public and private support to realize the vision of

an interoperable health care system.

The AHIC successor will bring together both public and private,

not-for-profit and for-profit entities that represent all sectors of the

health community. It is essential that the Federal government play a

substantial role in order to accelerate the emergence of an

interoperable nationwide health information system. Designing and

establishing an AHIC successor is neither an effort to privatize the

role of AHIC, nor is it Federal Government preemption. Instead, it is an

effort to establish a balanced, effective, public-private collaboration

among organizations and individuals in all sectors of the health

community.