INTEROPERABILITY INBOX

Health IT Advocates Press for Interoperability
The great promise of electronic health records (EHR) and health information exchanges — that patients' health information can pass seamlessly among providers, vendors and health care systems — will never be realized until those systems run on a set of common standards and achieve a greater level of interoperability. Click on the headline above to read the full article in CIO Online.

West Foundation Opens Doors of Interoperability Center
Citing the need for more affordable, efficient, and safer healthcare, the Gary and Mary West Foundation has provided initial grant funding for the Center for Medical Interoperability. The San Diego-based center will look for ways to employ standards-based solutions to speed the adoption of medical interoperability. The center will be established with personnel and royalty-free technology licensed from the West Health Institute, which is supported by the Foundation. Click on the headline above to read a Forbes online article about this West Foundation effort.

Insurance Exchanges Open for Business
Even amid the government shutdown, the new online insurance marketplaces — known as health insurance exchanges — were up and running on October 1, 2013. There were early reports of computer glitches across several states. Some states with large numbers of uninsured, are dealing with problems of a different sort. In the states with largest uninsured populations, the stakes are high for this fall’s insurance exchange enrollment — the difference between the healthcare status-quo and improvements in healthcare access and sustainability. Click on the headline above to read the full Healthcare IT News article.

HIMSS Innovation Center Grand Opening
In Cleveland on Tuesday, October 8, 2013, the Global Center for Health Innovation along with the HIMSS Innovation Center, officially open with a ribbon cutting and tours. HIMSS WorldWide President & CEO Steve Lieber is one of the guest speakers at this event, joining Mayor Frank Jackson of Cleveland and CEOs from other companies represented at the Global Center.  The goal of the HIMSS Innovation Center will be to demonstrate the value of health IT and information exchange in improving patient care, clinician satisfaction, and the financial bottom line. Read this HIMSS guest blog by Allego Health’s VP for Business Technology and Development, Jonathan Levoy, to learn how the Innovation Center’s Founding Collaborator is focused on improving patient engagement and outcomes. Click on the headline above to read more about the Global Center.

Showcase Connection

HIMSS14 Interoperability Showcase
The HIMSS Interoperability Showcase is an interactive environment where health IT solution providers can collaborate to maximize the collective impact of their technologies and connect with qualified, engaged decision makers. This year, HIMSS has significantly expanded the Interoperability Showcase at HIMSS14 by merging it with the Meaningful Use Experience to demonstrate the power of collaboration from the patient perspective in real time. Be part of the solution for the future of healthcare. Click on the headline above to learn more about the Interoperability Showcase at HIMSS14.

Connectathon Registration Open Thru Oct. 18
System registration for the IHE North American (NA) Connectathon 2014 is now open! Register before October 18, 2013 to secure your place amongst industry’s leaders at North America’s largest interoperability testing event. Test your products’ capabilities with a cross-section of key players and systems in the Healthcare continuum, including ambulatory EHR, hospital EHR, hospital HIS, lab, and radiology applications; private and public HIEs; the National Cancer Registry and other disease and wellness registries; medical devices, public health and care management; public health and care management systems; and integrated delivery networks. Register your system for testing by clicking the link above.

ONC’s Fridsma to Keynote IHE NA Connectathon Conference
Dr. Doug Fridsma will provide the opening keynote for the North American Connectathon Conference 2014 on Jan. 29, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. As the Chief Science Officer and Director of the Office of Science and Technology in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and author of Meaningful Use, Dr. Fridsma provides expertise and insights into the many ways that technology and IHE is enabling interoperability. Learn more at the link above.

IHE USA Certification Registration Open for NA CAT14
IHE USA has partnered with ICSA Labs to help accelerate the adoption of robust, secure, and scalable health information exchange. The IHE USA Certification program was created to support healthcare providers and hospitals as they adapt to the evolving health IT landscape which places increasing emphasis on shared information and accountable care. For more information on IHE USA Certification contact Sonia Robins at 224-500-5421 or click on the headline above.

HIMSS Interoperability Showcase Goes to Capitol Hill
The HIMSS Interoperability Showcase was featured at the two-day Institute for e-Health Policy’s annual Health IT Showcase this year – on the House side one day, and the Senate side the next. The events attracted House and Senate staff members with an interest in health IT policy. During the Sept. 18 event, Members of Congress and other VIPs spoke to reporters and others in attendance about the value of health IT. Speakers included Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), ONC Principal Deputy National Coordinator David Muntz, Former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer, Director of the Department of Health for the District of Columbia, Dr. Joxel Garcia, HIMSS Board Chair Scott MacLean, and Electronic Health Records Association (EHRA) Board Chair Mickey McGlynn.  Click the headline above to read more.

HIE Highway

HIMSS Analytics: Paper-Based Strategies Critical to Information Exchange
HIMSS Analytics released a new report, sponsored by ASG, on the barriers, challenges, and opportunities of healthcare information exchange (HIE). The report examines the current state of information exchange among U.S. hospitals and explores the opportunities for improving the collection and exchange of patient data. To attend the Oct. 14 webcast about the report, click the link in the headline.

New HIE Resources!!
The following resources are just a few that have recently been added to the HIMSS HIE Toolkits.  Please share these with your colleagues, and feel free to spread the word on Twitter and LinkedIn!

• The Health IT Landscape in the States: Through the Lens of the State CIO – This NASCIO / HIMSS collaboration explores the relationship between state activities and HIE, including use of existing infrastructure to support new initiatives.
• Early CHINs and HIE Organizations: Lessons for the Next Evolution – Successes, failures and lessons for HIE sustainability through analysis of the early Community Health Information Networks (CHINs).
• Organizational Resilience Management for Health Information Exchange – A primer and collection of resources on the development of an ORM strategy for HIE organizations.

If you are interested in creating informative content around health information exchange topics, click on the headline above to for more information on HIMSS HIE volunteer opportunities. To volunteer, please e-mail Julie Moffitt directly.

Policy Pipeline

A Recap of the 2013 HIMSS Public Policy Summit
Summit attendees participated in nearly 340 scheduled meetings on Capitol Hill, sharing the 2013 HIMSS Congressional Asks with Members of Congress and Congressional staff. The HIMSS Board of Directors met with the staff of the Senate Committee on Finance. Click on the headline to read the full article.

Reider to Act as National Coordinator; Muntz to Leave Government
On September 26, 2013, it was officially announced that along with the departure of Dr. Farzad Mostashari as National Coordinator for Health IT, Mr. David Muntz will be stepping down from the Principal Deputy National Coordinator position to return to the private sector. Dr. Jacob Reider will be the Acting National Coordinator for Health IT; moving up from his position as the Director of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, where he has been since 2011. For more information about the transitions at ONC, click the headline above.

FDA Releases Final Mobile Medical Applications (MMA) Guidance
On September 24, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its much anticipated final guidance on mobile medical applications (apps). The guidance provides industry with an in-depth explanation of the agency’s “current thinking” on the appropriate regulation of mobile apps, limiting its scope to apps that transform a mobile device or platform into a medical device. Click the link above for more coverage of this FDA Guidance and to download the mHIMSS Summary and Analysis of the guidance.

Debate Over Stage 2 Meaningful Use Start Date Heats Up
By Diana Manos
The start date for Stage 2 of the meaningful use incentive program, expected to begin Oct. 1, 2013 for hospitals and Jan. 1, 2014 for eligible providers is once again up for discussion. This is not the first time that lawmakers have called for a delay. This July, at a Senate Finance Committee meeting, the debate was rekindled to no avail. Click the link above to read the full Healthcare IT News article.

HIMSS Exchange

Apply Now - Join the Connectathon 2014 Monitor Team!
IHE USA which is staffed out of the HIMSS Chicago Office is looking for volunteer monitors to verify testing at the IHE NA Connectathon 2014, January 27 - 31, 2014. Monitors are required to be on-site during the event in Chicago. They use their skills and expertise to review interoperability tests performed by participating organizations at this year’s North American Connectathon. As a monitor, you will examine evidence presented by participants and assign a pass/fail grade for each test. Learn more about the benefits of becoming a monitor, the application process, and requirements for this opportunity by clicking the link above.

Seeking Volunteers mdash; Interoperability & Standards Work Groups
Are you interested in contributing your knowledge and expertise to advance interoperability and standards leading to health information exchange? Join one of the many HIMSS Interoperability & Standards (I&S) Work Groups to participate in dynamic discussions and develop useful content and tools for the industry. Click on the headline to learn more about the available volunteer opportunities this year and e-mail Mary-Ellen Devitt Johnson to join a work group.

Good Informatics Practices (GIP) Guidance: Modules as eBooks
Fueling the Life Sciences Innovation Engine, Good Informatics Practices (GIP) Guidance is an implementable IT system and process guidance for life sciences executives, technology practitioners and auditors designed to optimize and build a trusted IT ecosystem. Six of these modules, are available as eBooks. The GIP Guidance is a comprehensive online body of GIP modules, each topically oriented and containing a rich body of resources and aggregated information arranged into modules. Harness the transformational value of IT within your organization with GIP modules available at the HIMSS eBookstore.

Purchase a HIMSS eBook Library Subscription for Your Organization
Introducing the HIMSS eBook Subscription Program - your entire organization can have on-line access to a library of knowledge for one price! Purchase a subscription to the entire HIMSS eBook library or customized packages for your organization. The Subscription Program allows for concurrent knowledge delivery—allowing you and your staff to learn, grow and apply as a team. To learn more about the program and our competitive rates, click the e-mail link above.