Health IT Workgroup to Focus on Safety, Innovation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have named the members of a new workgroup that will develop recommendations for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information infrastructure. The group is scheduled to hold its first meeting April 29.
Members of the Food and Drug Administration Safety Innovation Act (FDASIA) Workgroup will provide input to the Health IT Policy Committee, which advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). Their input will be the basis of a report from the ONC, FCC, and FDA containing a proposed strategy for a risk-based regulatory framework for health IT, including medical mobile applications. In a statement, HHS said the framework will be designed to promote innovation, protect patient safety, and avoid regulatory duplication.
The workgroup’s membership includes agency officials and experts representing patients, consumers, healthcare providers, startups, and health plans or other third-party payers, among others.
"Patients already benefit from innovative information technology tools such as electronic health records that allow their providers to improve coordination and delivery of care," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a prepared statement. "This workgroup will help the Health IT Policy Committee consider new ways to navigate this rapidly growing industry while promoting innovation and protecting patient safety."
Interested parties can learn more about participating at www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/policy-fdasia.
Posted: April 22, 2013