The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released Connecting Health and Care for the Nation: A Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap Version 1.0. The draft Roadmap is a proposal to deliver better care and result in healthier people through the safe and secure exchange and use of electronic health information. Designed in concert with the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015 – 2020, the draft Roadmap is based on a core set of building blocks that are needed to achieve interoperability:
. Core technical standards and functions;
. Certification to support adoption and optimization of health IT products and services;
. Privacy and security protections for health information;
. Supportive business, clinical, cultural, and regulatory environments; and
. Rules of engagement and governance.
The draft Roadmap and Standards Advisory are available for viewing at
www.healthit.gov/interoperability. The public comment period for the draft Roadmap closes April 3, 2015. The public comment period for the Standards Advisory closes May 1, 2015.