My Thanks to HITSP

Today I wrote this email to all HITSP members thanking them for all their service from October 2005 to the present.

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Folks:

Today is a milestone day. The HITSP Contract extension expires but our work will live on as a foundation to meaningful use, standards and certification.

It is my hope that all of us will continue to be part of the ONC processes, providing input to the Federal Advisory Committees, staffing workgroups, and implementing interoperability solutions in our communities.

The HITSP website, containing all the HITSP documents, will continue to be available. ANSI has graciously offered to maintain the website for the next few months until contracts are awarded and other arrangements are made.

The new RFPs have not yet been awarded and we'll continue to watch for those announcements.

What's new in the heatlhcare standards world this month?

The April HIT Standards Committee focused on vocabulary standards, consumer engagement and healthcare reform transactions.

NHIN Direct continued its work to define simple transport implementation guides and addressing specifications.

We'll see the revised Interim Final Rule on Standards and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Meaningful Use before Summer.

A busy time for all as we implement all the standards and interoperability we've all worked so hard to define.

Thank you for all you do and I look forward to seeing you in Washington as we continue our work in a new ONC framework that leverages everything HITSP has accomplished.

John