Federal HIT sites

Intergovernmental

PandemicFlu.gov
PandemicFlu.gov provides comprehensive government-wide information on pandemic influenza and avian influenza. In the event of a pandemic, this will be the authoritative site for U.S. government information on the pandemic.

Consolidated Health Informatics
A presential initiative that adopts a portfolio of existing health information interoperability standards (health vocabulary and messaging) enabling all agencies in the federal health enterprise to communicate based on common enterprise-wide business and information technology architectures. About 20 department/agencies including HHS, VA, DOD, SSA, GSA, and NIST are active in the CHI governance process. Through the CHI governance process, all federal agencies will incorporate the adopted standards into their individual agency health data enterprise architecture used to build all new systems or modify existing ones. There is a Consolidated Health Informatics Council to lead the work.

AHRQ Patient Safety Network
AHRQ Patient Safety Network (PSNet) is a new national web-based resource featuring the latest news and essential resources on patient safety. The site offers weekly updates of patient safety literature, news, tools, and meetings ('What's New'), and a vast set of carefully annotated links to important research and other information on patient safety ('The Collection'). Supported by a robust patient safety taxonomy and web architecture, AHRQ PSNet provides powerful searching and browsing capability, as well as the ability for diverse users to customize the site around their interests (My PSNet). It also is tightly coupled with AHRQ WebM&M, the popular monthly journal that features user-submitted cases of medical errors, expert commentaries, and perspectives on patient safety."

Citizens' Healthcare Working Group
The Citizens' Health Care Working Group is composed of 14 citizens representing an informed cross-section of the American people. It is tasked with engaging the public in a nationwide discussion of options to improve health care by identifying innovative solutions in local communities that have successfully addressed issues of quality, efficiency and access to health care for the uninsured and underinsured.

MedPAC
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is an independent federal body established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33) to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. Two reports — issued in March and June each year — are the primary outlet for Commission recommendations.

Sample Listing of Federal Health Information Sharing Resources (2003)

Department of Health and Human Services

Agency for Healthcare, Research and Quality
AHRQ is the lead agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of healthcare, reduce its cost, improve patient safety, decrease medical errors, and broaden access to essential services.

American Health Information Community AHIC is the public-private entity that will develop standards and work to develop a national approach to interoperability. The committee will include HHS officials and representatives of key agencies including DOD and VA.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC has overarching health protection goals: Health promotion and prevention of disease, injury, and disability and preparedness: People in all communities will be protected from infectious, occupational, environmental, and terrorist threats.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
ATSDR's mission is to prevent exposure and adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites, unplanned releases, and other sources of pollution present in the environment.

Epidemic Information Exchange
Through Epi-X, CDC officials, state and local health departments, poison control centers, and other public health professionals can quickly and securelyaccess and share preliminary health surveillance information.

National Electronic Disease Surveillance System
NEDSS is an initiative that promotes the use of data and information system standards to advance the development of efficient, integrated, and interoperable surveillance systems at federal, state and local levels.

Public Health Information Network
PHIN is CDC's vision for advancing fully capable and interoperable information systems in the many organizations that participate in public health. PHIN is a national initiative to implement a multi-organizational business and technical architecture for public health information systems.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
CMS administers the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments), and several other health-related programs.

Food and Drug Administration
The FDA protects the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, the nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The FDA is also responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable; and helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to improve their health.

HIPAA Information Tracking System
CMS has launched a database to track HIPAA violation complaints. The database will store information from the Office of E-Health Standards and Services, which is responsible for enforcing HIPAA's administrative simplification rules. The database includes search capability and work-flow and reporting tools. (Federal Register, July 6, 2005)

Health Resources and Services Administration
The Health Resources and Services Administration envisions optimal health for all, supported by a health care system that assures access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality care. It focuses on uninsured, underserved, and special needs populations.

Electronic Medical Record Resources
During 2001-2003, the Bureau of Primary Health Care sponsored two pilot projects for electronic health records. These pilot projects were the result of the Health Center Information Systems Workgroup's recommendations to provide community health centers with information on Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Disease Management (DM) to assist with the implementation of systems that support clinical data management.

Shared Integrated Management Information System
The SIMIS initiative began in 1998, in an effort to assist community health centers to approach economies of scale means to implementing practice management technology through either State or marketplace health center networks.

Integrated Services Development Initiative
The program supports integration efforts in five areas one of which is information management.

Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
Office for the Advancement of Telehealth serves as a leader in telehealth, a focal point for HRSA's telehealth activities and as a catalyst for the wider adoption of advanced technologies in the provision of health care services and education.

HRSA Rural Health Policy
The office advises HHS on matters affecting rural hospitals, and health care, co-ordinating activities within the department that relate to rural health care, and maintaining a national information clearinghouse. It provides grants aimed at expanding access to, coordinating, restraining cost of, and improving the quality of essential health care in rural areas.

Indian Health Service
The IHS is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Indian people, and its goal is to raise their health status to the highest possible level. The IHS currently provides health services to approximately 1.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to more than 557 federally recognized tribes in 35 states.

Clinical Applications
The Clinical Applications web site provides links to information on selected Resource and Patient Management System clinical applications such as Asthma Register Management, Integrated Behavioral Health, and the Clinical Reporting System.

Clinical Reporting System
The Resource and Patient Management System Clinical Reporting System is a software application that facilitates local, Area and national monitoring of specific clinical performance measures.

IHS Electronic Health Record
The site is designed primarily for IHS, Tribal, and Urban (I/T/U) Indian health care facilities that are actively involved in implementation of IHS-EHR, or are contemplating doing so in the near future. It provides a variety of information about the EHR product, as well as links to a number of helpful documents.

The National Data Warehouse
The NDW project is upgrading the IHS national data repository, the National Patient Information Reporting System (NPIRS), to a new, state-of-the-art, enterprise-wide data warehouse environment. It is a collaborative project between Headquarters' Office of Information Technology and the Indian Health Performance Evaluation System, a Phoenix Area program.
NPIRS produces various reports that are required by statute and regulation and provides a broad range of clinical and administrative information to managers at all levels of the Indian health system, allowing better management of individual patients, local facilities, and regional and national programs.

Resource and Patient Management System
RPMS is an integrated solution for the management of clinical and administrative information in healthcare facilities of various sizes and orientations. Flexible hardware configurations, over 35 software applications, and network communication components combine to provide a comprehensive clinical, financial, and administrative solution.

Standard Code Book
The Indian Health Service Standard Codebook is a uniform listing of descriptive terms and identifying codes for recording and reporting medical information collected during the provision of health care services.

National Committee on VItal and Health Statistics
The committee serves as an advisory body to the Department of Health and Human Services on health data, statistics and national health information policy.

National Health Information Infrastructure
The National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) is a comprehensive knowledge-based network of interoperable systems of clinical, public health, and personal health information that would improve decision-making by making health information available when and where it is needed. and the set of technologies, standards, applications, systems, values, and laws that support all facets of individual health, health care, and public health.

National Institutes of Health
The goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. NIH conducts in its own laboratories; supporting the research of non-federal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad. It also helps in the training of research investigators; and fosters communication of medical and health sciences information.

Office of Health Policy
The Office of Health Policy is responsible for policy coordination, legislation development, strategic planning, policy research and evaluation, and economic analysis. The Office also calculates the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages which are used in determining the amount of federal matching funds for some state welfare and health programs.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
ONCHIT implements the President's vision for widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records. It serves as the senior advisor to the Secretary HHS and the President on all HIT programs and initiatives; it develops and maintains a strategic plan to guide the nationwide implementation of interoperable EHRs; it coordinates the spending for HIT programs and initiatives across the federal enterprise; it coordinates all outreach activities to private industry and serve as the catalyst for healthcare industry change.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority
The HHS formalization of the organization, functions and delegations of authority for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. (August 2005)

Pandemic Influenza Plan
The National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza presents the approach to address the threat of pandemic influenza, whether it results from the strain currently in birds in Asia or another influenza virus. It outlines how we intend to prepare, detect, and respond to a pandemic.

Homeland Security

National Biosurveillance Integration System
NBIS will combine health data from CDC, agricultural data from the USDA, food data from a combination of USDA and HHS, and environmental monitoring from BioWatch to improve detection and response.

Joint Defense Department and Veterans Affairs Programs

Clinical Data Repository/Health Data Repository
The CHDR initiative seeks to ensure the interoperability of the DOD Clinical Data Repository (CDR) with the VA Health Data Repository (HDR) by FY 2005. Under CHDR, the DoD and VA are developing the software component that will permit the Composite Health Care System (CHCS II) CDR and the Healthe Vet HDR to exchange clinical data so that both TRICARE and Healthe Vet beneficiaries receive seamless care.

Consolidated Health Informatics
The purpose of CHI is to adopt a portfolio of existing health information interoperability standards (health vocabulary and messaging). This project will enable all agencies in the Federal health enterprise to "speak the same language" based on common enterprise-wide business and information technology architectures.

DOD/VA Bidirectional Health Information Exchange
BHIE leverages existing joint DoD/VA infrastructure, IT investments, VA/DoD test facilities, and personnel resources to quickly support a real-time, bidirectional interface. BHIE also enables DoD Military Treatment Facilities and VA medical centers to exchange clinical data, capable of computational actions, when a shared patient presents for care.

Federal Health Information Exchange
This milestone accomplishment was led by the FHIE Program Office and now permits the Departments to share electronic medical information by providing historical data on separated and retired military personnel from DoD's Composite Health Care System to the FHIE Data Repository for use in VA clinical encounters, and potential future use for aggregate analysis.

Laboratory Data Sharing and Interoperability Project
The LDSI project focuses on sharing real-time chemistry laboratory order entry and laboratory results retrieval between DOD, VA and commercial reference laboratories. LDSI provides laboratory order portability between local DOD/VA sites that have a local sharing agreement for laboratory services.

National Defense Authorization Act IM/IT Demonstration Sites
Three information management and technology sites are evaluating health information technology projects as potential national health information technology solutions: bi-directional exchange of data, integrated credentialing functionality and enhancement of the BHIE HL7 data exchange with the HL7 Clinical Document Architecture.

VA/DOD Health IT Sharing Program
Facilitates and supports the development of mutually beneficial health information technology sharing agreements between VHA and the Military Health System.

VA/DoD Joint Electronic Health Records Interoperability (JEHRI) Program
This overarching initiative guides activities and deliverables of VA and DoD sharing and will result in a "virtual" health record accessible by authorized users within DoD and VA.

Defense Department

Advanced Technology Innovation Center
Executive-Level Briefing and Demonstration Facility, Technology Assessment and Technology Insertion, Computer Training Facility, Joint Medical Testing Center — The ATIC provides a full range of technical and technical support services, ranging from a state-of-the-art demonstration facility and conference room to a computer laboratory where the latest health care applications are tested in a secure environment.

Air Force Medical Service
The AFMS provides seamless health service support to the USAF and combatant commanders. It promotes and advocates for optimizing human performance (sustainment and enhancement) for the warfighters, including the optimal integration of human capabilities with systems. The AFMS operates and manages a worldwide healthcare system capable of responding to a full spectrum of anticipated health requirements and provides an integrated healthcare system from forward deployed locations through definitive care with an emphasis on prevention of illness and injury.

Army Medical Department
Manages the care of the soldier and the military family by providing quality, accessible, cost-effective health services.

Clinical Information System
The CIS is a commercial off-the-shelf-product that supports health care providers in the delivery of inpatient clinical and selected outpatient care. CIS improves productivity by eliminating many clerical and information processing activities. The core of CIS is automated clinical documentation, freeing users to attend to direct patient care. It provides point-of-care data capture at the patient's bedside for physiological monitors, fetal/uterine monitors, ventilators, and other patient care machines.

Clinical Information Technology Program Office
CITPO is an acquisition office for centrally managed Military Health System (MHS) clinical information technology systems that support the delivery of health services throughout the MHS.

Combat Casualty Care Program
Program reduces the mortality and morbidity resulting from injuries on the battlefield through the development of new life-saving strategies, new surgical techniques, biological and mechanical products, and the timely use of telemedicine technologies.

Composite Health Care System
CHCS is one of the largest medical systems in the world and the primary automated medical information system for the Department of Defense. CHCS provides essential, automated information support to Military Health System (MHS) providers, enabling improved quality of care for 8.9 million MHS beneficiaries at more than 700 DOD hospitals and clinics worldwide.

Composite Health Care System II
The CHCS II is a medical and dental clinical information system that will generate and maintain a comprehensive, life-long, computer-based patient record (CPR) for each Military Health System (MHS) beneficiary.

Defense Blood Standard System
The DBSS is a FDA-regulated, Class II Medical Device designed to handle blood collection, processing and tracking procedures, and automation of standards and safeguards for the Military Health System blood supply. DBSS is also identified by the FDA as a Blood Establishment Software item.

Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support
The DMLSS Program, co-sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) and the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics), is a partnership involving the wholesale medical logistics, medical information management, medical information technology, and user communities. DMLSS' mission is to improve responsiveness of medical logistics support. The DMLSS Program accomplishes this by implementing business process innovations that increase the effectiveness of medical logistics support and reduce cost.

Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Readiness System
The DOEHRS will integrate Force Health Protection information by providing automated support for the Military Health System Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Health, and Hearing Conservation Communities. The DOEHRS will support health care demand management by enabling exposure based Occupational Medicine and IH interventions.

Executive Information and Decision Support
The Executive Information and Decision Support (EI/DS) Program Office provides decision support information and tools used by Military Health System (MHS) managers, clinicians, and analysts to manage the business of health care within the MHS. To facilitate providing complete, accurate information upon which to make decisions, EI/DS manages the receipt, processing, and storage of tremendous volumes of data that characterize MHS operations and performance. The data, which include beneficiary, provider, financial, and healthcare use, are processed to improve data quality and then are integrated and made available to MHS users through a variety of EI/DS products and specialized data sets developed to meet business requirements.

Information Management, Technology and Reengineering
Applies the principles of DOD information and technology management by developing and implementing policies, procedures, programs, and technical standards necessary to acquire, manage, integrate, and secure information technology systems and capabilities that support the delivery of high quality, cost effective health care services across the operational continuum.

Joint Medical Information Systems
The Department of Defense (DoD) Military Health System (MHS) operates TRICARE as the worldwide, integrated health care delivery system for accessible, high quality, and cost effective health care services to 8.9 million beneficiaries. In support of TRICARE, the Information Management and Information Technology (IM/IT) Program oversees the identification of system requirements and the acquisition and worldwide deployment of software/hardware systems to meet DoD/MHS requirements.

MIlitary Health System
The Military Health System ensures the nation has available at all times a healthy fighting force supported by a combat ready healthcare system; and it provides a cost effective, quality health benefit to active duty members, retirees, survivors and their families.

Navy Medicine
Navy Medicine provides high quality, economical health care to about active duty Navy and Marine Corps members at a little more than half the national per capita average cost while supporting contingency, humanitarian and joint operations around the world with highly trained, dedicated health care professionals adhering to the principles of Total Quality Leadership.

Preventive Health Care Application
The PHCA is the integrated software application which serves as the interim solution for health care providers at 56 military treatment facilities to deliver and track clinical preventive services.

Resources Information Technology Program Office
RITPO develops, operates, and maintains automated information systems to support the TRICARE Management Activity, TRICARE Regional Lead Agent offices, and Service Surgeon General offices in managing the resources of the more than $20 billion annual Defense Health Program.

Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center
The Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), a subordinate element of the United States Army Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), is charged with managing core Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) and congressionally mandated projects in telemedicine and advanced medical technologies.

Theater Medical Information Program
TMIP's other prime purpose is as a major technology enabler of the Department of Defense's (DoD's) Force Health Protection (FHP) initiative. FHP is a comprehensive management strategy, including wellness and preventative initiatives, to preserve, maintain, and improve individual and collective health.

TRICARE
TRICARE is the Department of Defense health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors. TRICARE's primary objectives are to optimize the delivery of health care and services in military treatment facilities and attain the highest level of beneficiary satisfaction through the delivery of world-class health care benefits.

Tri-Service Infrastructure Management Program Office
TIMPO's mission is to provide customer-centric, secure communications and computing infrastructure (C&CI) products and services to enhance military health care operations.

NASA Electronic Health Records System Task Force
Currently, the EHRS project is a major initiative of the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO). An Agency Task Force, comprised of individuals from each of NASA's fourteen centers and facilities and crosscutting many professional disciplines, is focusing its current efforts on the generation of technical and functional requirements necessary for such a system to operate successfully in NASA's environment. Results from this endeavor will drive the development of an Agency-wide system capable of standardizing an improved level of health care for all employees. Interested individuals can check this page regularly to track the progress of this project.

U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
The Corps provides highly-trained and mobile health professionals who carry out programs to promote the health of the Nation, understand and prevent disease and injury, assure safe and effective drugs and medical devices, deliver health services to federal beneficiaries, and furnish health expertise in time of war or other national or international emergencies. The PHS Commissioned Corps is a specialized career system designed to attract, develop, and retain health professionals who may be assigned to federal, state or local agencies or international organizations to accomplish its mission.

Veterans Affairs

Decision Support System
The Decision Support System (DSS) is a set of programs that uses relational databases to provide information needed by managers and clinicians, including the cost of specific patient care encounters. DSS has been implemented throughout the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare systems. All medical centers should have DSS financial data on healthcare services provided after October 1, 1998.

HealtheVet
Through My HealtheVet, veterans can now begin to build their own Personal Health Record by self-entering information on medications, medical visits, medical events, and military health history. And, they can also enter health readings such as blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, body weight, and pain, and track results over time.

VHA Telehealth
Although VHA has engaged in telehealth in 32 different clinical areas, the organization's main emphases in implementing telehealth is in the following major areas: home telehealth, teledermatology, telemental health, telepathology, telerehabilitation and telesurgery .

Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture
VistA is a suite of healthcare information software that is in the public domain and being used by many public and private sector organizations. VISTA is built on a client-server architecture, which ties together workstations and personal computers with graphical user interfaces at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities, as well as software developed by local medical facility staff. VISTA also includes the links that allow commercial off-the-shelf software and products to be used with existing and future technologies. The Decision Support System (DSS) and other national databases that might be derived from locally generated data lie outside the scope of VISTA.

VistA Monograph Collection
A collection of monographs has been developed as an introduction to VHA developed software that comprises a large part of our integrated hospital information systems.