The Nationwide Health Information Network, which is now the eHealth Exchange, is an initiative for the exchange of healthcare information being developed under the auspices of the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The Nationwide Health Information Network, often abbreviated as the NHIN or NwHIN, is a web-services based series of specifications designed to securely exchange healthcare related data. The NwHIN is related to the Direct Project which uses a secure email-based approach. One of the latest goals is to increase the amount of onboarding information about the NwHIN to prospective vendors of health care systems.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has been facilitating development of the NwHIN, which will tie together health information exchanges, integrated delivery networks, pharmacies, government, labs, providers, payors and other stakeholders into a "network of networks."
A health care system participating in the NwHIN acquires an Object identifier (OID). The OID, issued by the ONC, allows the individual health care system or vendor to receive and send messages to trusted entities within the NwHIN through an Interface such as Mirth Connect or a custom-built Java UI. The NwHIN is built on open source code utilizing the Java platform. This creates a need for technical information sharing among programmers with the ONC also making information available.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has stressed, however, that the NwHIN will be a public-private venture. Foundations such as the Markle Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California HealthCare Foundation are now providing financial support for research and demonstration projects that could lead to advances in the development of a nationwide health information network.
The NwHIN is funded through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Indian Health Service.
Read more about Nationwide Health Information Network: NwHIN Participants, Health Information Service Providers (HSPs), How A Person Will Use The NwHIN, CONNECT, DIRECT, Future Direction
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