Final strategic plan released to set health IT's future

The updated, final Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020 was released by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and reflects input from more than 400 public comments, collaboration between federal contributors and recommendations from the Health IT Policy Committee.

“Health IT only achieves its full potential when it seamlessly supports individuals as they strive to take control of their own health,” said National Coordinator for Health IT Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc. “Implementing the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan over the next five years drives toward a public-private partnership to achieve interoperability and will help the nation achieve important health outcomes, while remaining flexible to the evolving nature of healthcare and technology.”

The strategic goals of the plan are to:

1. Advance person-centered health and self-management;
2. Transform health care delivery and community health;
3. Foster research, scientific knowledge and innovation; and
4. Enhance the U.S. health IT infrastructure.

Professional organizations were quick to share comments on the finalized plan. “We applaud ONC for taking on the herculean task of coordinating federal health IT initiatives across 35 federal agencies and for reaching out to the healthcare community for input on the strategic plan,” said CHIME in a statement attributed to Charles Christian, CHIME Board of Trustees chair, and Russell Branzell, CHIME president and CEO.

The organization said it supports the overarching goals of the strategic plan—advancing person-centered care, delivery system transformation and a focus on community health, fostering research, enhancing the nation’s IT infrastructure.

Although the healthcare system has “made tremendous strides in improving adoption of health IT and electronic health records,” to achieve the Triple Aim, “we must now focus on creating a truly interoperable IT network.” The organization called for attention to issues such as patient identification and the development of functional electronic clinical quality measures.

The National Partnership for Women & Families voiced its support for “the incorporation of person-centered health as a core goal” of the plan, in a statement from its president, Debra L. Ness. “We commend ONC for recognizing that patients, families and caregivers must be able to access, understand, use and share health information in order to achieve a healthcare system that delivers better care, better health and better value.”