The Health IT Policy Committee's governance work group is requesting public comment on questions related to the governance of the Nationwide Health Information Network, Health Data Management reports.
This is the second round of public comment on the issue (Goedert, Health Data Management, 12/1). The work group received 234 comments in the first round of input, including many requests for stronger privacy and security protections, according to a blog post by John Lumpkin, chair of the governance work group, and senior vice president and director of the health care group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Lumpkin, "Federal Advisory Committee Blog," HHS, 11/30).
For the second round, the work group is collecting public comments through Dec. 8 on:
- Which NHIN governance activities should fall under federal responsibility and which should be delegated;
- Whether the government should designate an overarching validation entity to accredit other certification or accreditation bodies; and
- Whether there is a critical need to establish a governance mechanism in the short term and what entity should support such a mechanism (Health Data Management, 12/1).
The work group is scheduled to present its recommendations to the full Health IT Policy Committee on Dec. 13 ("Federal Advisory Committee Blog," HHS, 11/30).