OMB/HHS Memo: Federal Agency Coordination on Health IT
February 19, 2010 Memo from OMB site (pdf); html version below:

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C.

February 19, 2010

M-10-10

MEMORANDUM TO: Robert M. Gates, Secretary, Department of Defense
Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs
Tom Vilsack, Secretary, Department of Agriculture
Gary Locke, Secretary, Department of Commerce
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner, Social Security Administration
John Berry, Director, Office of Personnel Management

FROM: Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
Peter R. Orszag, Director
Office of Management and Budget

SUBJECT: Federal Agency Coordination on Health Information Technology (HIT)

This memorandum proposes to create an interagency HIT Task Force to facilitate implementation of the President’s HIT agenda through better coordination among Federal agencies involved.

Background

The President’s health reform plans and the enactment of the HITECH Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have created enormous opportunities to accelerate adoption and meaningful use of HIT and thereby improve the quality and efficiency of health services. However, the fragmentation of current Federal HIT responsibilities, programs and coordinating mechanisms must be overcome to execute effectively the President’s program. Prior to HITECH, a mix of ad hoc councils and advisory groups were established to facilitate Federal HIT activities and communication. This legacy structure is not a good fit for the new environment that includes a statutory Office of the National Coordinator with greatly enhanced policy making responsibilities, two new Federal Advisory Committees (FACAs), increased Congressional engagement, and attention from a diverse body of interests in the private and public sectors.

We recommend dissolving and restructuring the existing HIT inter-agency groups to form a Government-wide Federal HIT Task Force. The purpose of the HIT Task Force will be to assist with policy development, coordination and implementation of Federal HIT activities, as well as to improve transparency of Federal government activities related to HIT and communication among Federal agencies as they execute Federal HIT policy.

Proposal

Our vision of the HIT Task Force is that it would be chaired by the National Coordinator for HIT (as authorized by Section 3001 of the HITECH Act). OMB’s Health Program Associate Director, as well as the Federal government’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer, will be vice-chairs. Agency participants would be the senior policy officials from HHS (and its relevant offices and operating divisions), DoD, VA, SSA, USDA, OPM, and Commerce. Initially, we envision that the group will meet monthly (or bi-weekly to start).

The HIT Task Force would also have several working groups defined at the first meeting to address a variety of HIT issue areas in more detail. These areas would focus on subjects where coordination among the agencies is essential to policy implementation. For example, continued development of the Federal Health Architecture, deployment of the Beacon Community program, coordination of privacy and security standards within the Federal government and between Federal and private stakeholders, and the assurance of interoperability and health information exchange between Federal and private health care providers might all constitute useful areas for working groups to address. It is anticipated that the working groups would be open to individuals from all Federal agencies, giving them the opportunity to participate in these groups.

The purpose of limiting participation on the HIT Task Force is to provide a forum for the key agencies who are the primary producers, consumers, and implementers of HIT in the Federal government, while opening up the working groups to all Federal agencies allows for a broad participation across the government on specific HIT issues. We believe it imperative that policy and technical representation be integrated in these communities, so that the efforts of both can be fully informed and coordinated.

Once the HIT Task Force is established, issues deserving high priority include:

• Coordinating and supporting achievement of the Administration’s vision for HIT, and especially, implementation and regulation on meaningful use developed pursuant to the HITECH statute.

• Providing formal Federal input into the two statutory Federal advisory committees: the HIT Policy and Standards Committees. Though these bodies represent Federal agencies, including DoD, VA, SSA, OSTP, and HHS, having more structured input into the deliberations of the advisory committees would be helpful.

• Identifying key Federal government HIT priorities and how best to achieve these priorities.

Action Item

We request that you designate a senior leader in your agency to serve on the proposed interagency HIT Task Force. Please forward your designee’s name and contact information to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in the Department of Health and Human Services … within five working days upon receipt of this memorandum.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

ONC Fills Out it Top Level Org Chart
Includes Role and Bio for Handley, Acting Deputy for Operations
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT filled out the top level of its Organization chart on its Web site, including the role and bio for the Acting Deputy National Coordinator Elisabeth A. Handley. The listing and bio below are excerpted from the ONC site.

David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P.
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Office of the Chief Scientist
Charles P. Friedman, Ph.D.

Office of Economic Analysis and Modeling
Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, Ph.D.

Office of the Chief Privacy Officer
Joy Pritts, JD      (Bio on e-Healthcare Marketing.com)

Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Operations
Elisabeth A. Handley, MPA (Acting)       (Also see role and bio below.)
    
     Office of Communications: Mary Jo Deering, Ph.D. (Acting)
     Office of Oversight: (Vacant)
     Office of Mission Support: Marc Weisman, JD
     Office of Strategic Initiatives: Sam Shellenberger

Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy
(Vacant)

     Office of Policy and Planning: Jodi G. Daniel, JD, MPH
     Office of Standards and Interoperability:
               Doug Fridsma, M.D., Ph.D. (Acting)
     Office of Provider Adoption Support: Mat Kendall, MPH (Acting)
     Office of State and Community Programs: Kelly Cronin, MPH

Elisabeth A. Handley
Acting Deputy National Coordinator for Operations  

Elisabeth A Handley

“Elisabeth A. Handley is the Acting Deputy National Coordinator for Operations. She is responsible for activities that support the numerous programs of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). These activities include budget formulation and execution, grants administration, communications, human resources and capital planning, contracts and facilities management.  Prior to joining ONC, Ms. Handley most recently was a Senior Advisor in the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Operations and in the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.

“At the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Ms. Handley created and led an alliance of partners who disseminated consumer information to Medicare beneficiaries. She was also the acting director of the managed care office, where she regulated managed care organizations. In the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General, she evaluated health programs. She began her federal career as a Presidential Management Intern at the Social Security Administration, after receiving a Master’s in Public Administration from Florida State University.”

Privacy Officer Named for Office of National Coordinator for Health IT:
Joy L Pritts, JD, of Georgetown University
Joseph Conn reported Feb 17, 2010 on ModernHealthcare.com that “Joy Pritts, a lawyer, privacy researcher and Georgetown University faculty member, has been named the first chief privacy officer for HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.”

Prior to her new appointment Joy L. Pritts, JD, was Senior Scholar of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and Research Associate Professor of the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University. Pritts is also listed as the “founding director of the Center of the Center of Medical Record Rights and Privacy at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute.”
http://hpi.georgetown.edu/privacy/index.html

As Mary Mosquera reported on Feb 17, 2010 in Government HealthIT, “The chief privacy officer is a new role at ONC, part of a re-organization now underway to help the office meet its responsibilities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

Pritts Bio
Pritts provided this bio in a October 20, 2009 statement (pdf) to the HIT Policy Committee Information Exchange Workgroup about electronic exchange of laboratory Information: “I am a lawyer and a Research Associate Professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. In my position at Georgetown, I conduct research and analysis on a range of issues related to the exchange of health information. Much of my work has focused on the Privacy Rule issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), its scope and its interaction with state health law.

“I have written extensively on this topic including: The State of Health Privacy (2002); Implementing the Federal Health Privacy Rule in California (2002); “Altered States: State Health Privacy Laws and the Impact of the Federal Health Privacy Rule,” Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics (Spring 2002); and “Preemption Analysis Under HIPAA—Proceed with Caution,” In Confidence (April 2003); and state-specific consumer guides on how to obtain and amend medical records under a combination of the HIPAA Privacy Rule and state law (2007), available at http://hpi.georgetown.edu/privacy/records.html

“Most recently, I have worked with the Office of National Coordinator (ONC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and RTI International on a series of legal surveys of state laws addressing the following topics:
–“Consent” requirements for disclosing health information for treatment;
–Permitted means and requirements for transmitting prescriptions;
–Individuals’ rights to access health information; and
–Clinical laboratory licensing laws restricting the disclosure of test results.”
Source: October 20, 2009 Statement by Joy L. Pritts, JD (pdf)

According to Howard Anderson’s story on Feb 17, 2010 on GovInfoSecurity.com, Pritts “served on the technical advisory panel for the multi-state Health Information Security and Privacy Collaborative (HISPC) and as a board member of the National Governors Association’s State Alliance for e-Health.”

What’s New on ONC’s Web Site?
Site Map Points the Way
On February 12, 2010, the Web site http://healthit.hhs.gov for the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT went through a major revamping to keep up with release of new information as its mission begins to change from planning to implementation in conjunction with the awards for State Health Information Exchange and Regional Extension Centers announced the same day.

The site map below for the ONC’s Web site is pulled primarily from the ONC’s left hand navigation bar. New indicates which areas or pages appear to be new or substantially updated or revised. Please send any corrections or comments to e-Healthcare Marketing. Thank you.

Health IT Home

HITECH & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Contract Opportunities — New
Soliciting Comprehensive Communication, Education Campaign
Learn about HITECH
      Tip Sheet for ARRA Recipient Reporting – New
Curriculum Development Centers Program
Community College Consortia to Educate HIT Professionals
Program of Assistance for University-Based Training
Competency Examination Program
Strategic HIT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP)
Beacon Community Program

FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Meeting Calendar At-A-Glance — New
HEALTH IT POLICY COMMITTEE
HIT Policy Committee Meetings
Meeting Webcast & Participation
mp3 audio files available within 24 hours, and
transcripts within 5-7 days — New
Upcoming Meetings
Past Meetings — New
HIT Policy Committee Recommendations
HIT Policy Committee Workgroups
     Meaningful Use
     Certification/Adoption
     Information Exchange
     Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN)
     Strategic Planning
     Privacy & Security Policy

HEALTH IT STANDARDS COMMITTEE
Health IT Standards Committee Meetings
Meeting Webcast & Participation
mp3 audio files available within 24 hours, and
transcripts within 5-7 days – New
Upcoming Meetings
Past Meetings — New
HIT Standards Committee Recommendations
HIT Standards Committee Workgroups
     Clinical Operations
     Clinical Quality
     Privacy & Security
     Implementation

REGULATIONS & GUIDANCE
Published Regulation and Guidance
Meaningful Use Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)
Initial Set of Standards and Certification Criteria Interim Final Rule (IFR)
HITECH Breach Notification Interim Final Rule

Meaningful Use Overview and Rule Development
     Other Meaningful Use Documents
Privacy and Security — New
     Privacy & Security Framework
     Anti-fraud
     HIPAA & Health IT
     Model PHR Privacy Notice
     Medical Identity Theft
     Federal Laws and Regulations
Standards and Certification – New
Standards
Certification
AHIC Use Cases and Requirements Documents
Historical Information

ONC INITIATIVES
State-Level Health Initiatives
Nationwide Health Information Network
Federal Health Architecture
Health IT Adoption
Clinical Decision Support & the CDS Collaboratory

OUTREACH, EVENTS & RESOURCES
News Releases (2007 – Present)
Events
Fact Sheets
–HITECH Programs — New, Funding Oppties, HIT Topics
Reports
Federal Health IT Programs
Technical Expert Workshops
Acronyms
Glossary
Health IT Tools
     Electronic Medical Records
     ePrescribing
     Personal Health Records
     Remote Monitoring
     Secure Messaging
     Telehealth

ABOUT ONC
Coordinator’s Corner: Updates from Dr. Blumenthal
Organization — New
     Org chart, roles, and management personnel
Budget & Performance — New
Contact ONC

BLOGS
Health IT Buzz Blog – Posts from Nat’l Coordinator and other ONC folks
Federal Advisory Committee Blog –Posts from HIT Policy, Standards Committees, Workgroups

Contact Opportunity on ONC site
Official Solicitation on FedBizOpps.gov site
Excerpted from FedBizOpps.gov:

Solicitation Number: ARRA2010-ONC-011
Notice Type: Special Notice