Washington Debrief: Carolyn Clancy Leaving AHRQ, Exploring the Barriers to HIE

As of publication, the Senate passed a House bill that extends the debt ceiling and enables the government to borrow money.  The bill also stops pay for all members of Congress if a budget is not passed by April 15.  The President is expected to sign the bill; however, there was no language regarding sequestration.  According to a recent media report, House Republicans may be looking to use sequestration as a way to deplete the President’s political capital.  Expect more focus to turn to the issue of sequestration now that the debt limit issue has been defused.

ONC to Establish New Accountable Care Health IT FACA In an announcement made Friday, ONC said they would be standing up a new workgroup under the HIT Policy Committee to focus on Accountable Care.  The HITPC's Accountable Care Workgroup “will be charged with making recommendations on how HHS policies and programs can advance the evolution of a health IT infrastructure that enables providers to improve care and population health while reducing costs in accountable care models,” the announcement said.  The workgroup will focus on specific high priority areas where programs and policies can shape the availability and use of health IT infrastructure necessary for Accountable Care Organizations to realize the three part aim.

Those interested in being considered for membership on this workgroup, should register at ONC's Workgroup Application Database. ONC will be reviewing the applications received by February 15, 2013.

ONC Seeks Input on State of Readiness for Exchange Capacity among Clinical Labs

CHIME is helping sponsor an ONC survey entitled the “National Survey on Health Information Exchange in Clinical Laboratories,” to provide policymakers with a comprehensive understanding of electronic laboratory information exchange capacity and activity among clinical laboratories across the nation.  ONC and their partner NORC, will administer the survey from January through May to a random sample of approximately 14,000 clinical laboratories, including 2,729 hospital-based labs.  Survey results will be published this summer to HealthIT.gov.  Answers are confidential and will be used only in aggregate form in reports issued by ONC.

Edited by Gabriel Perna