NIST Outlines Support for Health IT Initiative

June 30, 2005

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Contact: Michael Baum
301-975-2763

President Bush has set a goal of widespread adoption of electronic health records within 10 years so that health information will follow patients throughout their care in a seamless and secure manner. To help achieve this goal, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have developed a strategic partnership. In testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation, and Competitiveness on June 30, NIST Acting Director Hratch Semerjian outlined how NIST plans to support the President's Health IT Initiative including:

assisting in evaluating responses to the Request for Proposals recently issued by HHS;
  • providing technical expertise for Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) architecture;
  • assisting in standards harmonization;
  • developing performance and conformance metrics for NHIN;
  • assisting in the development of procedures for certifying conformance; and
  • providing guidance for IT security.

The full text of Semerjian's testimony is available at: www.nist.gov/public_affairs/2005_hsemerjian_senate_healthIT_6-30.html.