The federal government has updated its Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for the next five years, outlining the next five key goals to bolster the widespread adoption and use of health IT.
The goals include:
1. Expanding the adoption of health IT by increasing the effective use of IT systems and services, increasing user and market confidence in the safety of such products and advancing a national communications infrastructure that supports health, safety and care delivery.
2. Advancing secure and interoperable health information. The plan seeks to enable stakeholders — patients, providers and public health entities — to securely send, receive, find and use electronic health information, as well as develop the technical standards needed to support secure and interoperable health information.
3. Strengthening care delivery. This includes quality, access and experience by ensuring safe, timely, efficient and person-centered care. Additionally, the plan calls to improve clinical services, community services and population health.
4. Advancing the well-being of individuals and communities by empowering patient and caregiver engagement and management and protecting and promoting public health.
5. Advancing research, scientific knowledge and innovation. The strategic plan aims to increase access to high-quality electronic health information, quicken the development and commercialization of innovative solutions and continue research on how health IT can further improve health and care delivery.
"With this updated plan, the federal government signals that, while we will continue to work toward more widespread adoption of health IT, efforts will begin to include new sources of information and ways to disseminate knowledge quickly, securely and efficiently," wrote Karen DeSalvo, MD, national coordinator of health IT, in the report.
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