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The National Health Information Network Page

About the NHIN, World Privacy Forum testimony and Comments, NHIN resources, NHIN Timeline

 

What is the NHIN?

The National Health Information Network (NHIN) is an ambitious modernization plan proposed by the U.S. government. The idea is to move as an entire nation from paper medical files to electronic medical files that are shared. Specifically, the government goal is to digitize patients' health records and medical files and create a national network to place the information in. The network, called the NHIN, would be a sophisticated network that hospitals, insurers, doctors, and others could potentially access. Such a network brings patient privacy, security, and confidentiality issues into sharp relief.

President Bush has specifically issued a call that most Americans should have electronic medical files, or electronic health records (EHRs) within ten years. Along those lines, President Bush signed an Executive Order in April, 2004 entitled "Incentives for the Use of Health Information Technology and Establishing the Position of the National Health Information Technology Coordinator." This order created a new Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and also mandated the updating of the nation's medical information systems, including networked systems. (For example, the update would include the creation of the NHIN).

It will be important for all individuals to pay attention to these proposed plans and to give input into how the medical and patient information modernization should be accomplished. It is the World Privacy Forum's goal to help ensure that EHRs and the NHIN are built from the ground up with great attention to patient choice, privacy, security, and confidentiality. It is also the World Privacy Forum's goal that risks resulting from medical identity theft, which are significant, be mitigated and planned for in any NHIN.

 

NHIN Timeline

It is useful to see how the NHIN is developing over time. The World Privacy Forum has created a timeline that traces the key developments in this nationwide project and helps give a quick visual mapping of events.

 

 

 

World Privacy Forum Documents about the NHIN

 

 

 

 

  • Joint Comments on the NHIN by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and World Privacy Forum. (Submitted to Health and Human Services January, 2005 in response to an RFI).

    Read the EFF/WPF joint comments (PDF)

 

 

Other NHIN Resources

 

 

  • The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology NHIN page contains some foundational documents on the NHIN including the Request For Information (2004) and the summary of responses to the request. Over 500 organizations, including the World Privacy Forum, responded to the RFI with comments.

    http://www.os.dhhs.gov/healthit/nhin.html

 

  • The general landing page for the Office of Health Information Technology is a prime resource for general issues regarding EHRs and the NHIN.

    http://www.os.dhhs.gov/healthit/

 

Other News about NHIN: (See also NHIN Timeline )

 

  • (News after June 2006 is now maintained on the NHIN timeline)
  • June 2006, the first NHIN forum is being held by HHS.
  • May 2006, a series of contracts were approved laying the groundwork for the NHIN.
  • November 2005, a series of pilot projects for the NHIN were approved and set in motion.
  • In June 2005, an American Health Information Community was announced. The "community" is chartered with helping the transition from paper to electronic medical files. http://www.os.dhhs.gov/healthit/ahic.html.