HIT Policy Standards Committees to Meet

The HIT Policy Committee will hold its first meeting May 11 in Washington D.C. The HIT Standards Committee will hold its inaugural meeting on May 15, also in Washington D.C. More information on both meetings is available in notices published May 6 in the Federal Register, at:

gpoaccess.gov/fr/indext.html.

Instructions on how to access the meetings and participate in person or on the web are below.

The policy committee will advise David Blumenthal, M.D. on issues involving implementation of a National Health Information Network (NHIN) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The standards committee will advise on standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use of health information. Sixteen appointments to the policy committee have been announced. Membership in the standards committee has not been announced. According to the published notices of both committees, members will be introduced at the May meetings. "Because of initial delays in processing members' nominations, the 15-day deadline for notification was not met."

My hope is that NeHC will evolve to become a part of the HIT Standards Committee. U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), announced the appointment of 13 members to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will appoint three members of the HIT Policy Committee. President Obama can appoint additional members to represent federal agencies. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not yet announced his appointment. The additional three members that have been named are:

  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has appointed Paul Egerman, chair and CEO at eScription Inc., Needham, Mass.
  • House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has appointed Gayle Harrell of Stuart, Fla., a former member of the Florida House of Representatives.
  • Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has appointed Frank Nemec, M.D., a Las Vegas-based gastroenterologist.


(PDF) GAO Announces Appointments to Health Information Technology

The first meeting of the HIT Standards Committee is:

Friday, May 15, 2009, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Eastern) at the
Department of Health and Human Services
Mary C. Switzer Building
Suite 1200, Conference Room 1114330 C Street SW
Washington, DC 20201
Seating is limited and given on a first-come, first-served basis.


Health IT Standards Comittee Meetings: How to Participate Webconference:

At least 10 minutes prior to the meeting start time, please go to:

http://altarum.na3.acrobat.com/HITstandards

(If for any reason the link does not work, simply copy and paste the URL into your browser's address bar) Select "enter as a guest" Type your first and last name into the field Click “enter room”

Test Your System: You will need to have an up-to-date version of Flash Player to view the webconference. Please test your system prior to the meeting by visiting

http://altarum.na3.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

NOTE: when running this system test, you do not need to install the Adobe Connect Add-in (step 4 of the test), as that is not relevant to this meeting.

Audio: You may listen in via computer or telephone.

US toll free: 1-877-705-6006

International Direct: 1-201-689-8557

Confirmation Code: HIT Committee Meeting

The first meeting of the HIT Policy Committee is:

Monday, May 11, 2009 - 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. (Eastern) at the
Department of Health and Human Services,
Hubert H. Humphrey BuildingRoom 505A 200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201

Health IT Policy Comittee Meetings: How to Participate Webconference:

At least 10 minutes prior to the meeting start time, please go to: http://altarum.na3.acrobat.com/HITpolicy

(If for any reason the link does not work, simply copy and paste the URL into your browser's address bar) Select "enter as a guest" Type your first and last name into the field Click “enter room”

Test Your System: You will need to have an up-to-date version of Flash Player to view the webconference. Please test your system prior to the meeting by visiting

http://altarum.na3.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

NOTE: when running this system test, you do not need to install the Adobe Connect Add-in (step 4 of the test), as that is not relevant to this meeting.

Audio: You may listen in via computer or telephone.

US toll free: 1-877-705-6006

International Direct: 1-201-689-8557

Confirmation Code: HIT Committee Meeting

If you have any technical questions, please send an email to webmeeting@altarum.org