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• eHealth Initiative

  The eHealth Initiative is an independent, nonprofit organization that engages doctors and patients in order to standardize and reform the use of health information technology (HIT) to improve patient care in the United States Continue Reading

• Consolidated Health Informatics (CHI)

  The Consolidated Health Informatics (CHI) initiative refers to a collaborative effort to create and adopt health informatics standards to be used by federal departments such as the Department of Health & Human Services and the Department of Veterans... Continue Reading

• Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN)

  The Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) is a set of standards, services and policies that enable secure health information exchange (HIE) over the Internet. Continue Reading

• Hospital Compare

  Hospital Compare is a website that lets consumers compare the quality of hospital outpatient services. The site is hosted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Continue Reading

• American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)

  The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is a group of individuals from myriad disciplines who convene in the interest of improving health informatics as it relates to patient care, teaching, research and related aspects of health care ... Continue Reading

• Definitions to Get Started

  • problem list
  • pharmaceutical detailing
  • medical transcription (MT)
  • electronic intensive care unit (eICU)

  • protected health information (PHI) or personal health information
  • HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
  • telemedicine (telehealth)
  • Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO)

  View All Definitions

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is a U.S. government agency that functions as a part of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to support research to help improve the quality of health care.Continue Reading

• electronic medical billing

  Electronic medical billing is the process by which a health care provider electronically submits a bill, or claim, to a health insurance company, or payer, for the rendering of medical services.Continue Reading

• Unified Medical Language System (UMLS)

  Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) is a comprehensive list of biomedical terms for developing computer systems capable of understanding the specialized vocabulary used in biomedicine and health care.Continue Reading

• Maintenance Management Information System (MMIS)

  Maintenance Management Information System (MMIS) is a mechanized claims processing and information retrieval system for Medicaid that's required by the federal government.Continue Reading

• hybrid health record (HHR)

  A hybrid health record (HHR) is documentation of an individual's health information that is tracked in multiple formats and stored in multiple places. Today, the majority of health records in the United States are considered to be hybrid.Continue Reading

• Public Health Information Network

  Public Health Information Network (PHIN) is an initiative developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish and implement a framework for sharing public health information electronically.Continue Reading

• SearchHealthIT.com podcasts provide health IT news on the go

  SearchHealthIT.com podcasts provide health IT news on the go, featuring interviews with health IT leaders and advice from health IT experts.Continue Reading

• serious reportable event (SRE)

  A serious reportable event (SRE) is an incident involving death or serious harm to a patient resulting from a lapse or error in a healthcare facility. The National Quality Forum (NQF) coined the term to refer to "preventable, serious, and ...Continue Reading

• National Quality Forum (NQF)

  The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to improving the quality of health care in the United States. To that end, the NQF embodies a three-part mission -- to set goals for performance...Continue Reading

• Reference Information Model (RIM)

  The Reference Information Model (RIM) is an information model for health care data developed by Health Level 7 International (HL7). Based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML), the Reference Information Model consists of a generic set of classes ...Continue Reading

• LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes)

  LOINC, the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes, is a standard for identifying medical laboratory observations. It was created in 1994 by the Regenstrief Institute Inc., an Indianapolis-based research organization affiliated with Indiana ...Continue Reading

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the principal federal agency for health research in the United States. The NIH is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Which federal agencies administer the HITECH Act?

  The HITECH Act sets many goals for the adoption of EHR technology. This FAQ explains which federal agencies and committees oversee meaningful use, standards and other health IT policies.Continue Reading

• Continuity of Care Document (CCD)

  The Continuity of Care Document (CCD) is an electronic document exchange standard for sharing patient summary information.Continue Reading

• Continuity of Care Record (CCR)

  The Continuity of Care Record, or CCR, is a standard for the creation of electronic summaries of patient health. Its aim is to improve the quality of health care and to reduce medical errors by making current information readily available to ...Continue Reading

• HITSP

  HITSP (Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel) is an organization created to promote standardization and broad scale interoperability among healthcare applications and information systems. The Panel is made up of healthcare experts from ...Continue Reading

• SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine -- Clinical Terms)

  SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine -- Clinical Terms) is a standardized, multilingual vocabulary of clinical terminology that is used by physicians and other health care providers for the electronic exchange of clinical health ...Continue Reading

• CMIO (Chief Medical Information Officer)

  A Chief Medical Information Officer, or CMIO, essentially serves as the bridge between medical and IT departments at a health care organization. This person may also be referred to as the director of medical informatics or health informatics.Continue Reading

• Microsoft HealthVault

  Microsoft HealthVault, which launched in October 2007, is a free personal health record (PHR) service offered by Microsoft that allows individuals to store personal health and fitness information in a central location. The Web-based service is ...Continue Reading

• FAQ guides for health care IT

  These FAQ guides provide detailed answers to some of the most commonly asked questions in health care IT, plus links to related articles, tips and terms.Continue Reading

• Google Health

  Google Health is a personal health record (PHR) service that allows users to centrally store and manage their health information online. The application is free but requires a Google account.Continue Reading

• e-prescribing (electronic prescribing)

  E-prescribing, or electronic prescribing is a technology framework that allows physicians and other medical practitioners to write and send prescriptions to a participating pharmacy electronically instead of using handwritten or faxed notes or ...Continue Reading

• e-prescribing (eRx) incentive program

  The Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program is a US government program that provides financial incentives to physicians, practitioners and therapists who meet certain criteria for the use of qualified e-prescribing systems.Continue Reading

• CHIME (College of Healthcare Information Management Executives)

  The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an organization created to serve the professional development needs of CIOs working in the healthcare industry and to promote effective information management within that ...Continue Reading

• FAQ: How does meaningful use affect health care IT?

  Meaningful use requirements for electronic health records systems aim to improve the quality of health care and reduce costs. But as this FAQ shows, achieving meaningful use is not easy.Continue Reading

• CCHIT - Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology

  The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) is an independent, not-for-profit group that certifies electronic health records (EHR) and networks for health information exchange (HIE) in the United States. CCHIT's stated...Continue Reading