[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 237 (Friday, December 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76986-76987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31159]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology; Health Information Technology; Request for Information
Regarding the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
(PCAST) Report Entitled ``Realizing the Full Potential of Health
Information Technology To Improve Healthcare for Americans: The Path
Forward''
AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology (ONC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: This document is a request for comments regarding the recently
released PCAST report and its implications for the nation's health
information technology (HIT) agenda and ONC's implementation of the
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act
(HITECH Act).
DATES: Comment Date: To be assured consideration, comments must be
received at one of the addresses provided below, no later than 5 p.m.
on January 17, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Because of staff and resource limitations, we cannot accept
comments by facsimile (FAX) transmission. You may submit comments by
any of the following methods (please do not submit duplicate comments).
Electronically: You may submit electronic comments on this
request for information at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
``Submit a comment'' instructions. Attachments should be in Microsoft
Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF.
Regular, Express, or Overnight Mail: Department of Health
and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology, Attention: Steven Posnack, Hubert H. Humphrey
Building, Suite 729D, 200 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20201.
Please submit one original and two copies. Please also allow sufficient
time for mailed comments to be received before the close of the comment
period.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Attention: Steven
Posnack, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Suite 729D, 200 Independence
Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20201. Please submit one original and two
copies. (Because access to the interior of the Hubert H. Humphrey
Building is not readily available to persons without Federal government
identification, commenters are encouraged to leave their comments in
the mail drop slots located in the main lobby of the building.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Posnack, Director, Federal
Policy Division, Office of Policy and Planning, Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 202-690-7151.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the
close of the comment period will be available for public inspection,
including any personally identifiable or confidential business
information that is included in a comment. Please do not include
anything in your comment submission that you do not wish to share with
the general public. Such information includes, but is not limited to: A
person's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license
number; State identification number or foreign country equivalent;
passport number; financial account number; credit or debit card number;
any personal health information; or any business information that could
be considered to be proprietary. We will post all comments received
before the close of the comment period at http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the search instructions on that Web site to view public
comments.
I. Background
On December 8, 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on Science
and Technology (PCAST) released an important new report entitled
``Realizing the Full Potential of Health Information Technology To
Improve Healthcare for Americans: The Path Forward'' (the PCAST
Report). (The full report is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast and also available on ONC's Web site
http://healthit.hhs.gov). PCAST is an advisory group of the nation's
leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the President and
the Executive Office of the President. PCAST makes policy
recommendations in the many areas where understanding of science,
technology, and innovation is key to strengthening our economy and
forming policy that works for the American people. PCAST is
administered by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
PCAST's report and its recommendations have significant implications
for the nation's HIT agenda and the implementation of the HITECH Act,
passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Recovery Act) (Pub. L. 111-5). ONC seeks public comment on the PCAST
report's vision and recommendations and how they may be best addressed.
II. Solicitation of Comments
ONC seeks comment on the questions below. Comments on other aspects
of the PCAST report are also welcome.
1. What standards, implementation specifications, certification
criteria, and certification processes for electronic health record
(EHR) technology and other HIT would be required to implement the
following specific recommendations from the PCAST report:
a. That ONC establish minimal standards for the metadata associated
with tagged data elements;
b. That ONC facilitate the rapid mapping of existing semantic
taxonomies into tagged data elements;
c. That certification of EHR technology and other HIT should focus
on interoperability with reference implementations developed by ONC.
2. What processes and approaches would facilitate the rapid
development
[[Page 76987]]
and use of these standards, implementation specifications,
certification criteria and certification processes?
3. Given currently implemented information technology (IT)
architectures and enterprises, what challenges will the industry face
with respect to transitioning to the approach discussed in the PCAST
report?
a. Given currently implemented provider workflows, what are some
challenges to populating the metadata that may be necessary to
implement the approach discussed in the PCAST report?
b. Alternatively, what are proposed solutions, or best practices
from other industries, that could be leveraged to expedite these
transitions?
4. What technological developments and policy actions would be
required to assure the privacy and security of health data in a
national infrastructure for HIT that embodies the PCAST vision and
recommendations?
5. How might a system of Data Element Access Services (DEAS), as
described in the report, be established, and what role should the
Federal government assume in the oversight and/or governance of such a
system?
6. How might ONC best integrate the changes envisioned by the PCAST
report into its work in preparation for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use?
7. What are the implications of the PCAST report on HIT programs
and activities, specifically, health information exchange and Federal
agency activities, and how could ONC address those implications?
8. Are there lessons learned regarding metadata tagging in other
industries that ONC should be aware of?
9. Are there lessons learned from initiatives to establish
information-sharing languages (``universal languages'') in other
sectors?
Dated: December 7, 2010.
David Blumenthal,
National Coordinator, Office of the National Coordinator for HIT.
[FR Doc. 2010-31159 Filed 12-8-10; 11:15 am]
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