Reports & Data

Reports

Innovations in Games: Better Health and Healthcare Report [PDF - 1MB]

On February 1, 2012, the White House Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy hosted a group of leading game designers, researchers, and government officials to explore the potential for games to improve health and health care. That discussion focused on three areas:

  • Understanding the current landscape of games and health;
  • Identifying areas where game dynamics and health needs could intersect to improve health outcomes in the future;
  • Identifying areas where the federal government could play a role in promoting innovations in health games.

This report summarizes the key discussion points from the day.

Behavioral Health Roundtable: Summary Report of Findings [PDF - 387 KB]

As part of its mission, ONC aims to coordinate the adoption and use of health IT to support broader objectives of integrating behavioral health and primary care. This roundtable was an important first step in developing a behavioral health IT strategy in support of this mission. ONC worked with participants during the roundtable to identify priority areas for using health IT to achieve better integration, and to discuss options for addressing these areas.

Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration (SERCH): Final Report [PDF - 4.7 MB]

ONC convened the Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration (SERCH) project on Health Information Exchange in Disaster Preparedness and Response in November 2010 in order to develop a strategic plan for sharing health information data among the Southeast and Gulf States during and following a declared natural disaster. This final report from the project includes an actionable plan for incorporating health information exchange into disaster preparedness efforts.

Electronic Health Record Adoption and Utilization: 2012 Highlights and Accomplishments [PDF - 452 KB]

ONC is taking this opportunity to share health IT highlights and accomplishments. These statistics and program highlights offer insight into the adoption and use of health IT and showcase federal programs that are working to continue this forward momentum. We hope you will share this information with your colleagues to help “get the word out” about health IT and our programs and efforts to continue to advance health IT adoption throughout the United States.

Implementation of ONCs Workforce Development Program [PDF - 561 KB]

ONC's Workforce Development Program's primary goal is to train a new workforce of health IT professionals who will be ready to help providers implement and maintain electronic health records to improve health-care quality, safety, and cost-efficiency. To this end, ONC designed the program to train high-caliber health IT professionals interested in supporting the growing and evolving health IT industry. In support of the Workforce Development Program, ONC funded NORC at the University of Chicago to perform an independent evaluation of the Workforce Development Program, including all four of its constituent programs. This research brief describes the grantees' implementation efforts using data from surveys, focus groups, and interviews with populations and key stakeholders involved with the program. It describes the schools' approaches to integrating evolving and newly developed curricula, recruiting and training faculty and prospective students, and coordinating among the four grant programs, as well as with other prospective employers of students trained through the program.

Global Evaluation Quarterly Report Q1 2012 [PDF - 521 KB]

This summary supports the global assessment by synthesizing in one place selected statistics and activity reports relating to implementation of HITECH. It is developed quarterly and reflects information made available between January 2, 2012 and March 30, 2012. The list is not meant to be exhaustive but to reflect a subset of reports and activities on the ONC or CMS web site, in selected documents that are referenced in the reports ONC receives daily as part of its communications monitoring, and selected other activities of which we are aware.

The Evolution of the State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program: State Plans to Enable Robust Health Information Exchange [PDF - 452 KB]

This issue brief documents the historical context for the State Health Information Exchange (HIE) Cooperative Agreement Program and assesses the status of the program one year after its initiation. In preparing this document, the team used information gathered from existing literature, program documentation, and conversations with key program stakeholders to trace the history of federal initiatives to promote HIE in the United States. The team ultimately focused on the evolution of the State HIE Program since it became part of federal law, and offered insight on the potential of the program to influence the HIE landscape.

Early Findings from a Review of Twenty-Seven States [PDF - 303 KB]

This brief characterizes the various approaches that states and State Designated Entities (SDEs) are taking to enable Health Information Exchange (HIE), one of the key aims of the evaluation. The brief highlights early findings from a mixed method study of 27 states conducted approximately one year and six months since the inception of the State HIE Program. This brief informs readers of emerging models for enabling HIE; the rationale for the various approaches that states are pursuing; the progress of state implementation; and the common challenges and barriers being faced by states.

Overview of ONC's Workforce Development Program [PDF - 254 KB]*

A multi-year evaluation was conducted to assess the effectiveness of ONC's Workforce Development Program. This report provides an overview of the Workforce Development Program, describes the implementation status through June 2011, and discusses some early programmatic challenges.

Understanding the Impact of Health IT on Underserved Communities and those with Health Disparities [PDF - 954 KB]*

This Briefing Paper provides an overview of findings from an environmental scan and literature review of topics related to health information technology and its potential impact on communities with health disparities and disproportionate numbers of medically underserved individuals.

*These reports were completed by NORC at the University of Chicago under contract to ONC. The findings and conclusions of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ONC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A Report to Congress: Quality Incentives for Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics and Free Clinics [PDF - 1.3 MB]

This Report to Congress discusses initiatives and incentives for improving health care quality in federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and free clinics. It also provides an overview of the current knowledge regarding quality of care and the use of health IT in these facilities.

A Report to Congress: Update on the Adoption of Health Information Technology [PDF - 494 KB]

This Report to Congress provides updates on the adoption of health IT as well as the efforts of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to facilitate nationwide adoption and exchange of electronic health information. In addition, it outlines barriers to the adoption and exchange of electronic clinical data.

Vision for the Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program [PDF - 269 KB]

This paper presents the motivation and objectives of ONC's SHARP program both at its inception and in the current context of health care in the United States. It offers a brief review of the history and mechanics of the program, including the research areas targeted by program funding. In addition, it describes the anticipated outputs and benefits from SHARP and reviews the approaches to program management, results dissemination, and collaboration that can help extend and accelerate outcomes of the program.

Disparity reports


This collection of case studies highlights nine community-based programs using health IT to address the needs of populations with documented disparities in access, quality of care, and outcomes. Each case study discusses the type of intervention used and the providers and populations involved, providing detail on stakeholders' experience adopting and using various health IT solutions to improve health care delivery and outcomes for vulnerable groups.


Small Rural Hospitals reports


Overcoming Challenges to Health IT Adoption in Small, Rural Hospitals [PDF - 2.62 MB]

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) funded the Altarum Institute to examine challenges to health IT adoption in small, rural hospitals. This report provides summarizes specific health IT adoption challenges faced by small, rural hospitals and discusses key management strategies they can employ to address the challenges. Findings in this study draw upon information from site visits and interviews with key staff at eight small, rural hospitals throughout the United States, selected from a range of levels of EHR adoption, financial health, and patient and payer mix.

Estimating EHR Incentive Payments for Critical Access Hospitals [PDF - 2.07 MB]

This white paper reviews key components of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program specific to the circumstances and need of Critical Access Hospitals.