The National Cancer Institute’s Patient Outcomes Data Service has been cited as an example of health information technology (HIT) that could facilitate electronic health record (EHR) adoption and use. The service allows physicians to collect, share and aggregate information about cancer diagnoses, treatments and outcomes; such data exchange is a primary goal of meaningful use.
The cancer registry was one of several HIT opportunities highlighted by White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra at a recent implementations workgroup meeting. The official also pointed to the Nationwide Health Information Network, which the government hopes to build out to more providers, and a successful EHR implementation at Truman Medical Center, Kansas City, MO, as proof of HIT capabilties in the private sector. Similar examples will likely be posted on the Office of the National Coordinator’s (ONC) blog, Chopra added.
ONC expects to release draft implementation specifications in May, with a final set slated for the end of September, according to the director of ONC’s Office of Interoperability and Standards.
