Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
Federal Health Information Technology Strategic Plan
2011 – 2015

 

The NHIN (Nationwide Health Information Network) - called the network of networks, is the grid through which all statewide and regional Health Information Exchanges (HIE's),  will participate. Ultimately the NHIN will link all Federal Agencies and every statewide HIE and sub-regional HIE's into one network. Through standards, a common framework and architecture, patient data will be available across town or across the country in real time.

 

 

 

 

Click here to see a great demonstration of what is being done today in Ohio and Indiana to improve patient care, in participation in the trial implementation of the NHIN.

This presentation was made in September 2008 in Washington, D.C. by Dr. Marc Overhage from Regenstrief Institute and Dr. Todd Rowland from HealthLINC. These medical informatics experts represent two of the operational Health Information Exchanges in the midwest This is a powerful example of where we are headed in the realm of the interoperability and exchange of patient health data across state lines and ultimately across the United States.
         

It could be you or me, our parents or our children in the hospital. Maybe they were traveling and an illness or accident put them in the Emergency Room.

You see, it affects all of us. The only question that remains to be answered is when practices will adopt EHR technologies, not if. The question of if a practice goes 'electronic' has been decided.

Medicare reimbursements will be reduced beginning in 2015 for those non participating practices. Do you want a declining reimbursement schedule? Of course not..... Your participation, while not mandatory, will be part of changes in HIT going on around the country. The Federal HIT plan over the next four years ,at a glance, looks like this: