ONC holds fifth Consumer HIT Summit; there's a 'revolution happening'

"There really is a revolution happening. Patients are at the epicenter of the change," said Jon White, MD, deputy national coordinator, opening the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's fifth annual Consumer Health IT Summit.

"ONC’s commitment to consumers and to their access to their healthcare data is fundamental to what we do," he added. Health reform is driving greater consumerism and "we're seeing greater change. Change that is not going to slow down."

National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, also addressed the audience. Referring to the series of Senate hearings over the past several months on health IT, she said there is a lot of bipartisan support. "The time is now for us to see that consumers have access to and control of their electronic health information. There is a lot of support for where we're going."

The updated federal strategic health IT plan reshapes the strategic direction of more than 35 federal partners, she said, and "puts the person right at the center. It speaks to how the federal government wants to work in partnership with states, the private sector and communities to see that we are bringing electronic health information to bear. We're moving to a world where health data wraps around the person in a longitudinal fashion. [The plan] is a statement on the part of this administration that the consumer matters first."

A member of the audience asked about efforts to address information blocking. DeSalvo said that putting a name on the practice and giving it a definition already has helped. There's a willingness to stand up and make a statement about it that has been quite strong. It's going to be a complex conversation but the more we work together the further along we’ll get more quickly."