This blog is written to honor all of the caregivers who give tirelessly of themselves for a loved one and often feel left alone to navigate the healthcare system. I want you to know you are not alone. We in ONC stand with you both professionally and personally as we dedicate our efforts to improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities through the use of technology and health information that is accessible when and where it matters most.

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Combatting the opioid crisis is a top priority for the Trump Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  We are making progress. Just last week we released the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data, which showed significantly more people received treatment for substance use disorder in 2017 than in 2016; this was especially true for those with heroin-related opioid use disorders.  In addition, the number of people who initiated use of heroin in 2017 was less than half of the number in 2016.

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September is National Preparedness Month, which makes it the perfect time for clinicians and healthcare entities to consider what would happen if their health information technology (health IT) systems are unavailable or in some way compromised. This issue has become more important over time as healthcare is increasingly dependent on technology and a growing percentage of the workforce have never practiced without health IT and may not know what to do if their systems or information are unavailable.

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In 2017 we announced “A 5-Year Goal to Transition the ONC Health IT Certification Program’s Testing Portfolio” to include as many industry-developed and maintained testing tools as possible. This month, we reached another important milestone toward this goal: the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) has formally taken over the stewardship of the electronic prescribing testing tool approved for use under the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program).

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as part of the CY 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, is proposing a historic shift in the documentation requirements associated with clinician office-based Evaluation and Management (E/M) visits for Medicare. This proposal would help to significantly reduce administrative burdens imposed on the nation’s clinicians, allowing them to spend more time with their patients.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) was tasked by Congress in the 21st Century Cures Act to work with CMS to reduce clinician burden associated with health information technology.

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