ONC bestows nearly $1M grant on IOM for health IT study

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will conduct a one-year study aimed at ensuring that health IT will achieve its full potential for improving patient safety in healthcare, under a $989,000 contract announced by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

The study will examine a range of patient safety-related issues, including prevention of health IT-related errors and reporting of any health IT-related patient safety issues. It will make recommendations concerning the potential effects of government policies and private sector actions in maximizing patient safety and avoiding medical errors through health IT.

According to IOM, the highlights of the study will include:

• Summary of existing knowledge of the effects of health IT on patient safety;
• Identifying approaches to promote the safety-enhancing features of health IT while protecting patients from any safety problems associated with health IT;
• Identifying approaches for preventing health IT-related patient safety problems before they occur;
• Identifying approaches for surveillance and reporting activities to bring about detection and correction of patient safety problems;
• Addressing the potential roles of private sector entities such as accrediting and certification bodies as well as patient safety organizations and professional and trade associations; and
• Discussion of existing authorities and potential roles for federal agencies, including the FDA, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“This study will draw on IOM’s depth of knowledge in this area to help all of us ensure that health IT reaches the goals we are seeking for patient safety improvement,” said David Blumenthal, MD, national coordinator for health IT.