LMI Consulting and Brookings Institution with grant funding are establishing an independent and sustainable partnership between the government and the private sector. To make this a reality, over 200 stakeholders met on March 10th with stakeholders either in person, by webcast, or via teleconferencing. The stakeholders listened to comments and discussed how to best establish the AHIC Successor to be called AHIC 2.0. The Successor organization is scheduled to be in place within four months and transition to full operation after eleven months.
Mark McClellan, Brookings Institution, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, said the new organization selected to oversee this activity is working with a broad range of stakeholders and will examine management issues, define strategic directions, and determine key activities.
Stakeholders voiced numerous comments and suggestions on several issues and problems that need to be specifically addressed. Some of the issues that are open to further discussions include:
- Workshop redundancies
- Limited resources available to do the job
- Pace of expectations
- Drivers for adopting technology
- Business case needed to drive standards development
- Maintaining stakeholder support and commitment
- Tracking the marketplace
- Developing a roadmap for the project
- Impact on clinical decisions
- Role for the AHIC Successor in dealing with privacy and security
- Global considerations
- Coordination of current interoperable initiatives concerning standards harmonization and the Certification of health IT
- Working with Governors in states
The project is divided into two phases and key stakeholders from both the public and private sector will be invited to meet at two future meetings on April 8, and May 30, 2008. Four AHIC Successor Planning groups have been established on governance, membership, sustainability, and transition. Volunteers are needed to serve and need to apply by Friday March 14, 2008. For more information on volunteering for the planning groups, email Nate Gannon at ngannon@lmi.org or go to www.ahicsuccessor.org/hhs/ahic.nsf/volunteer.htm.
