DeSalvo: health IT is 'more than just EHRs'.

ONC was created in 2004 by President George W. Bush to help expand the use of health information technology (IT) across the country. Over the past 10 years, thanks in great part to the enactment of the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) provisions in the American Recovery and Revitalization Act (ARRA), we have passed the tipping point in the adoption of health IT and electronic health records (EHRs). But health IT is more than just EHRs, it is the broader use of health information technology to help improve the nation’s health. While meaningful use creates the foundation for interoperability, it is now time to move beyond MU to drive interoperability across the care continuum by marrying standards to federal policies that will facilitate many different types of exchange over the next several years to meet the demands of delivery system reform. To drive this, ONC is focusing on five streams for effort: • Adoption and Optimization of EHRs and health IT • Standards to Support Implementation and Certification • Financial and Clinical Incentives • Privacy and Security • Rules of Engagement or Governance