Get Support
You don't have to be a technology expert to make the transition to EHRs. Resources are available to make EHR implementation easier for providers throughout the entire process, or at any point along the way.
Browse Questions by Topic
- Blue Button - Introduction for General Audiences“Blue Button” is shorthand for a movement toward an improved healthcare system in which patients and providers use information technology to collaborate and improve health. The Blue Button logo...
- Blue Button - Using and Understanding the Blue ButtonYou are not required by law to use Blue Button. However, being able to “blue button” your health data and share that information with others you trust could be helpful in the event of an emergency...To ensure that your personal health information is kept private and secure, typically only you can access the Blue Button after you have logged into your health care provider or health plan’s patient...Blue Button for America is a collaborative effort by the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand consumer access to personal health...You should already be taking care of yourself—or managing your care—by watching what you eat, exercising and taking advantage of preventive health benefits your health plan might offer. And many...Your doctor is not required to offer Blue Button. However, there are financial incentives available from the federal government to encourage health care providers to adopt electronic health record...Remember that unless you are a veteran, Medicare beneficiary or service member or your health plan, health care provider (doctor or hospital) or other entities where you seek care use Blue Button, it...The HIPAA Privacy Rule sets rules and limits over who can look at and receive your health information. The rules still apply with Blue Button so your doctor won’t have access to any information they...Many people in the United States still don’t have easy, electronic access to their health information, and many don’t know that the Federal government has taken a large step towards solving that...The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) helps keep entities covered under HIPAA accountable for the privacy and security of patients’ health information. Although electronic...There should not be a cost. Ask your health care provider or health plan if they offer a way for you to view, download and share your health information online.Even if you don’t have access to Blue Button through your health plan, doctor or other health care provider such as pharmacies, nursing homes and labs, you still have a legal right to see and get a...The Blue Button enables you to securely access your personal health data online by clicking on a “Blue Button” logo or icon. You may have access to your claims and personal health information that...It depends if your health care provider, health plan (insurer), or other entity that manages your health data (e.g. pharmacy, lab, etc.) offers a way for you to get secure access to your health...“Blue Button” is a term that connotes easy, secure electronic access to your health data. Having access to this information can help you manage your care by having information you need to coordinate...The Blue Button allows you to download your personal health information, including information like your emergency contact information, health history, important test results, medications, allergies...To ensure that your personal health information is kept private and secure, typically only you can access the Blue Button after you have logged into your health care provider or health plan’s patient...It depends. The data that you are able to get from your health plan and your health care provider (doctor, hospital, etc.) may be different. Health plans may have both claims and personal health...Although your doctor may not want to offer you with a way to securely access your health record online, they are required by law to provide you with a way to view and get a copy of your medical...
- Blue Button - Information for DevelopersNo, but it used to be. Blue Button started as a simple-as-it-gets text (ASCII) file. But that was only the start. As more organizations adopted the Blue Button and more patients used it, it became...ONC and the Department of Veterans Affairs have teamed up to launch a new Standards...The Veterans Health Administration launched the Blue Button in August 2010 by adding it to VA’s MyHealtheVet patient portal. Veterans could use the Blue Button to download their health information in...The ONC Pledge Program was launched in September 2011 to catalyze and support organizations at the vanguard of empowering individuals to be partners in their health and health care through health IT...Maybe. Stage 2 of Meaningful Use requires that patients be given the capability to view, download and transmit their health data electronically. These requirements are fully aligned with the Blue...Yes. Stage 2 of Meaningful Use requires that patients be given the capability to view, download and transmit their health data electronically. These requirements are fully aligned with the Blue...
- ONC RegulationsRead the most frequently asked questions [PDF - 501 KB] regarding ONC regulations.
- Privacy and SecuritySection 13101 of the HITECH Act (2009) required that a new Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) position be established in ONC. The CPO will advise the National Coordinator on critical privacy and security...HITECH (Section 13101) required the establishment of a Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) to make recommendations on the policies needed to enable the electronic exchange and use...The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Health and Human Services has the regulatory authority for the HIPAA Privacy and Security rules. OCR also issues guidance and...ONC is working with the federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) and HIT Standards Committee (HITSC) to explore policy and technical methods for enabling patient choice in...ONC federal advisory committees have been active in collecting information, deliberating on key issues, and making recommendations to the National Coordinator on measures related to security of...
- State Health Information ExchangeStates/SDEs play a critical leadership role fostering effective and efficient exchange of health information that leverages existing regional and state efforts and is based on HHS-adopted standards...The HITECH Act seeks to improve patient care and make it patient-centric through the creation of a secure, interoperable nationwide health information network. A key premise is that information...The process of building meaningful use and HIE capacity in a state can best be described as an ongoing process of planning, implementation and evaluation that results in building and expanding...Each group has an important role to play. States enabled by this cooperative agreement program will develop and implement a Strategic Plan that will ensure that a comprehensive set of actions will...Commercial barriers. The HITECH Act calls for the “development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure that allows for the electronic use and exchange of information and that…...Medicare and Medicaid meaningful use incentives are anticipated to create demand for products and services that enable HIE among eligible providers. This demand for health information exchange will...
- Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP)For additional information, please contact the SHARP Project Officer, Wil Yu. Read more about the SHARP program.Coordination will be facilitated by a Federal Steering Committee. There will be regular opportunities for interaction between principal investigators, senior staff, and senior researchers of the four...The cooperative agreements focus on breakthrough research. The work to be undertaken by awardees is intended to inform the development of tools and find its way into the development of tools and...An award was made to each of these institutions: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Harvard...The SHARP program provides for new competitively-awarded cooperative agreements to establish Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP). Each awardee will implement a collaborative, inter...The goals for each project are to develop technology solutions in the selected area of research, make the technology solutions available to the health information technology market, and make research...Yes, the definition of IT products should be considered in the broadest possible sense and does not exclude those related to technologies developed in non-commercial settings or those intended to be...ONC, and/or its representatives, will provide the following types of support to SHARP: Consultation and technical assistance in planning, operating, and evaluating the research activities...Any entity who submitted an application for this award was required to be a U.S.-based public or private institution of higher education; or other public or private institution or organization with a...The SHARP program seeks to support improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare, through advanced information technology. The research projects supported by the SHARP program...The SHARP program encourages collaborations with the vendor community and recognizes that they are essential to innovation within health IT. Vendors will be important in helping to develop the...The awards were made in the form of cooperative agreements with a four-year project period. Each cooperative agreement anticipates a total budget of approximately $15 million over the full four-year...
Most Popular Questions
Section 13101 of the HITECH Act (2009) required that a new Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) position be established in ONC. The CPO will advise the National Coordinator on critical privacy and security...
For additional information, please contact the SHARP Project Officer, Wil Yu. Read more about the SHARP program.
States/SDEs play a critical leadership role fostering effective and efficient exchange of health information that leverages existing regional and state efforts and is based on HHS-adopted standards...
Coordination will be facilitated by a Federal Steering Committee. There will be regular opportunities for interaction between principal investigators, senior staff, and senior researchers of the four...
An award was made to each of these institutions: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Harvard...
