The National Alliance for Health Information Technology, which managed a federally funded initiative to seek industry consensus on the use and definitions of specific information technology terms, has published its final report.
The definitions cover electronic medical records; electronic health records; personal health records; the process of health information exchange; the governance of HIEs, under which the initiative coined the phrase health information organization; and regional health information organization.
Following are the consensus definitions for each of the six terms:
* Electronic Medical Record: “An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization.”
* Electronic Health Record: “An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff across more than one health care organization.”
* Personal Health Record: “An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be drawn from multiple sources while being managed, shared, and controlled by the individual.”
* Health Information Exchange: “The electronic movement of health-related information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards.”
* Health Information Organization: “An organization that oversees and governs the exchange of health-related information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards.”
* Regional Health Information Organization: “A health information organization that brings together health care stakeholders within a defined geographic area and governs health information exchange among them for the purpose of improving health and care in that community.”
The report and definitions will be presented on June 3 to the American Health Information Community, a Department of Health and Human Services advisory body, for final approval.
The report also summarizes the deliberations and conclusions of two work groups that put together the definitions and describes how the definitions, if adopted over time, could better support health I.T. interoperability. The report is available at www.nahit.org.
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