The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is embarking on a new initiative to help healthcare organizations "adapt and evolve ONC's standards and technology work processes."
The ONC Tech Lab "will provide internal and external stakeholders with common connection points to ONC's standards and technology efforts," Steven Posnack, director of the agency's Office of Standards and Technology, writes for the agency's Health IT Buzz blog.
This initiative, Posnack says, ties in with all of ONC's latest interoperability efforts, including its Interoperability Roadmap and Federal Health IT Strategic Plan. The agency, in December, unveiled its finalized 2016 Interoperability Standards Advisory.
The ONC Tech Lab will focus on four areas, Posnack writes, which include:
- Standards: This will include working with standards development organizations and industry professionals on pinpointing when standards need more clarity or where there are gaps in standards, Posnack writes.
- Testing and utilities: ONC will promote both development and collaborative use of health IT testing tools, as well as ways for providers and developers to better test their tech functionality.
- Pilots: ONC aims to "stimulate cooperation and creativity among the active pilot community that exists nationwide," Posnack writes.
- Innovation: The agency will work with startups to create events and contests to promote innovation and on standards that can support new technologies.
Posnack adds that as operations for the Standards and Interoperability (S&I) Framework come to a close, the agency wants to move forward in its work on interoperability, which will include completing any remaining framework initiatives through the ONC Tech Lab.
To learn more:
- here's the blog post