EHNAC demands more specificity for NwHIN governance
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a nonprofit standards development organization and accrediting body, has submitted detailed comments on the request for information on governance of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN).
EHNAC’s primary concerns are that the proposal included in the request for information (RFI) does not contain enough specificity to be carried out effectively or “aggressively advance the progress needed,” and that the “validation” mechanism as proposed may actually impede the adoption of implementation of NwHIN.
“Our comments reflect the thorough analysis and discussion among EHNAC commissioners and members," says Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. "We believe that a governance framework for health information exchange must achieve a correct balance between guidance and flexibility, constraints and enablement—regulation may not be the appropriate framework to achieve such governance.”
EHNAC made several recommendations, including the following:
The full comments are available on EHNAC’s website. The RFI was published on May 15 in the Federal Register by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.
EHNAC’s primary concerns are that the proposal included in the request for information (RFI) does not contain enough specificity to be carried out effectively or “aggressively advance the progress needed,” and that the “validation” mechanism as proposed may actually impede the adoption of implementation of NwHIN.
“Our comments reflect the thorough analysis and discussion among EHNAC commissioners and members," says Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. "We believe that a governance framework for health information exchange must achieve a correct balance between guidance and flexibility, constraints and enablement—regulation may not be the appropriate framework to achieve such governance.”
EHNAC made several recommendations, including the following:
- Make explicit which electronic exchange methodology and framework within the NwHIN is under consideration as the subject of any “condition of trusted exchange,” and specify that an objective, third-party, national certification/accreditation organization(s) ree designated to provide this level of review.
- Assist with industry development of specifications, procedures and the security and privacy framework necessary to assure that exchange networks meet the standards and provide for interoperability between entities.
- Acknowledge two classes of recognition and oversight—namely certification and accreditation to include auditing—and make clear the roles, functions and responsibilities for which kinds of products, organizations and other entities require either certification or accreditation.
The full comments are available on EHNAC’s website. The RFI was published on May 15 in the Federal Register by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.
Beth Walsh, Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.