Getting There...

An information exchange of a thousand patients begins with a single discharge.

The Nationwide Health Information Network, basically a separate Internet of health care organisations and systems, underwent it's first real test last week. Among other achievements, we saw the creation of a fabulous new acronym: DURSA. Stands for Data Usage and Reciprocal Support Agreement.

In the test, 19 organisations demonstrated the ability to access and retrieve patient level data, albeit fictitious patients, from NHIN partners, which include DoD, the VA, and SSA.

A live test with real data is scheduled for December, but ten years from now, we'll be looking back at this test as the first successful day we exchanged data, I think this is truly the the beginning of the end of the beginning. We're nearly there. I can smell it.

I've been attending the AHIC meetings remotely, but couldn't make it to this one due to my being Nyquil'ed up to the gills for a week, but you can read more about this truly momentous occasion at GovHealthIT, HIT News, and for bonus points here's an article on the national EHR in the UK, which has finally grown a pair and decided that patients who don't want to be included on the national system need to opt out of the program.‎