What is ONC doing to promote privacy in health information exchange (HIE)?

ONC is working with the federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) and HIT Standards Committee (HITSC) to explore policy and technical methods for enabling patient choice in health information exchange, including a one-day conference on available technical capabilities to support patient consent. White papers on patient consent models and state consent laws were issued and a paper on data segmentation is underway. A study of the privacy and security practices of entities not subject to HIPAA will support a report to Congress in which ONC will, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, make recommendations on the privacy and security requirements for non-covered entities, with an emphasis on personal health records. A Request for Information on the same topic is being released to solicit information from the public. ONC is organizing a series of listening sessions to engage the public in a national dialogue about health information exchange. The Office of the Chief Privacy Officer is working with ONC divisions to assure the integration of privacy into all facets of ONC activities and projects. In addition, ONC is working to ensure that the technical and policy foundations of the nationwide health information network will demonstrate methods for achieving trust among entities exchanging information while integrating best practices for privacy and security.