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The ONC Health IT Certification Program provides assurance to purchasers and other users that a system meets the technological capability, functionality, and security requirements adopted by HHS.

Effective use of health IT helps make the right information available to the right people at the right time, which can improve clinical quality and safety

• Measuring Results,
• Prioritizing Improvements, and
• Implementing and Monitoring Results

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) contractors and grantees play a valuable role in helping promote better health care for Americans by encouraging the use of health IT.

We invite you to learn more about how to work with ONC.

Learn the Basics of Health IT and Health Information Exchange. Topics in this section include:

• Benefits of Electronic Health Records (EHRS)
• Case Studies about Health IT Implementation
• Glossary of common Health IT terms

ONC supports many health IT initiatives to drive broader understanding of the role health IT in improving care, supporting providers and empowering patients. These initiatives include:

This section includes:

• The Health IT Playbook which provides tools to providers who are implementing health IT
• Consumer resources including Blue Button
• Million Hearts

The Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC), established in the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255), provides recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, policies, standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria, relating to the implementation of a health information technology infrastructure, nationally and locally, that advances the electronic access, exchange, and use of health information.

Health IT is a global issue that is relevant across borders. With that in mind, HHS and ONC have continued to engage in collaborative agreements with our international partners in order to share ideas and ultimately learn from each other to provide the best digital health environment possible for everyone.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is responsible for advancing connectivity and interoperability of health information technology (health IT). Interoperable health IT is vital utilizing health IT to improve care.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) supports the nationwide implementation of health IT, partially through its programs that target a range of issues, from promoting health IT excellence in communities to fostering collaboration among federal agencies.

Patient engagement can have big benefits for your practice and your patients: better communication, better care, and better outcomes. Health information technology (health IT) is a powerful tool to help you get there — so learn how to make it work for you.

Health information technology promises a number of potential benefits for individuals, health care providers, and the nation’s health care system.

It has the ability to advance clinical care, improve population health, and reduce costs. At the same time, this environment also poses new challenges and opportunities for protecting individually identifiable health information.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) conducts projects that leverage the existing health IT investment to support the biomedical and health services research enterprise.  In addition, ONC coordinates related health IT policy and programs with key federal and private sector stakeholders such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) promotes the adoption and use of standards and technologies that allow health information to be shared electronically between clinicians, patients, researchers, and others with the authorization to the access the information. By promoting this ability to share information, often referred to as “interoperability,” ONC aims to promote better care for patients, encourage stronger patient engagement in their own care, and lay the foundation for important new health initiatives, including the Precision Medicine Initiative.

Electronic health record (EHR) adoption is now approaching 100% in many settings, and as adoption increases so does concern surrounding satisfaction with the user experience. A number of initiatives are underway to improve security, reliability, and patient safety by focusing on improving EHR usability.

Learn about health IT laws and regulations about:

• Information Blocking
• Health IT Polices
• Meaningful Use and MACRA