The October HIT Standards Committee meeting

The October HIT Standards Committee reviewed the FDA Universal Device Identifer NPRM, the transition of the NwHIN to a public/private partnership, and an update from ONC on S&I Framework/related programs.

Jamie Ferguson presented a very thoughtful list of recommendations to the FDA, including the notion that all healthcare devices, including consumer devices, should have a universal device identifier that can be used as metadata when exchanging information.  A UDI will help us understand the nature of the data, the accuracy of the data, and the range of possible data from each healthcare device.

Mariann Yeager, Interim Executive Director of Healtheway, presented an overview of the public/private partnership successor to the NwHIN program.  As ARRA/HITECH funds diminish, it is important to move ongoing ONC operational components such as NwHIN to self- sustaining partnerships.   Healtheway will ensure continuity of the NwHIN Exchange efforts, regardless of the outcome of the election or fluctuations in Federal budgets.

Continuing the theme of public/private partnership, Doug Frisdma presented an overview of ONC project transitions to a combination of public, public/private, and private efforts.

I look forward to the next meeting in which we'll likely begin discussion of the testing and certification scripts as we move forward to the implementation of Stage 2 programs.