The scheduled meetings for the HIT Policy Committee and the HIT Standards Committee are August 14^th and August 20^th, consecutively. While we’re all waiting with bated breath for their updated recommendations, let’s figure out what the difference is between the two committees.

According to the official HIT for HHS site (healthit.hhs.gov):

The Policy Committee “will make recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT) on a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient medical information.”

The Standards Committee “is charged with making recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT) on standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use of health information.”

The meaning is in their names (how clever): Policy equals recommendations for government policies and Standards equals recommendations on certification.

What does make an EHR user friendly? From nine basic principles (such as simplicity, consistency, forgiveness and feedback) to methodologies behind evaluation and rating systems, the HIMSS EHR Usability Task Force produced an easy to follow guide: Defining and Testing EHR Usability.

In the interest of full disclosure, and to exercise our well deserved bragging rights: one of our Project Managers was on the task force and lent a hand behind the scenes for this much anticipated publication.

Do you want to know what's going on behind the scenes as the HIT Standards Committee refines their initial recommendations so that the ONC and CMS can include them in the interim final rule? Read this post by John Halamka, MD, CIO, CareGroup Health System, Harvard Medical School.

Are you attending Siemens Innovations in Philly this week? 

After you attend the "Straight from the Hill… an Update on ARRA and Healthcare Reform" presentation by Mark Esherick, Director, Government Affairs, Siemens Healthcare...Don't forget to stop by our booth # 802.  

Three VCSers (Cyndi Cahill, SVP; John Dal Poggetto, SVP; & Kim Tombragel, PM/DBD) just returned from Orlando, Florida having had great success at the Allscripts Client Expereince meeting.

In this Healthcare IT News article the author writes about how Obama's push for healthcare reform had a hand in making ACE the success that it was.

Have any of you participated in the the EHR stimulus tour that started in May?