HIT Policy Committee adds new workgroups

The HIT Policy Committee has added two new workgroups to its roster. The FDASIA workgroup will focus on identifying key considerations to improve patient safety and promote innovation in health IT, and the ACO workgroup will identify high priority areas where the use of health IT can support accountable care models.

The Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) allows for a report that contains a proposed strategy and recommendations on an appropriate, risk-based regulatory framework for health IT, including medical mobile applications, that promotes innovation, protects patient safety and avoids regulatory duplication. The FDA, FCC and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT will review and consider the recommendations provided by the HIT Policy Committee, based on input from the workgroup, as the three agencies write the report.

The FDASIA workgroup will focus on safety risks--and likelihood--that may be posed by health IT, factors to be included in a risk-based regulatory approach, and approaches to avoid duplicative or overlapping regulatory requirements. Its first meeting is scheduled for April 29.

The ACO workgroup may focus on data aggregation/analytics, information exchange that supports care coordination and consumer engagement. The group is expected fo focus on supporting the emergence of data aggregation and analytics capabilities that are scalable and accessible across disparate providers; enabling and encouraging information exchange; increasing patient activation; and shaping payment policy to strengthen the business case for information exchange.