National Health Information Network
Encyclopedia
The Nationwide Health Information Network (formerly NHIN, now NwHIN) 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). (For the "National Health Information Network" a product from PDX, Inc see PDX Inc.)
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has been facilitating development of the NHIN, which will tie together health information exchanges, integrated delivery networks, pharmacies, government, labs, providers, payors and other stakeholders into a "network of networks."
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has stressed, however, that the NHIN 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.
and between organizations. Nonetheless, the primary users of the NHIN will be people:
healthcare providers, healthcare consumers and those who use the data in the NHIN for public
health, quality assessment or other purposes. These people will have several ways to take
advantage of the information exchange available through the NHIN.
Access Paths to the System:
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has been facilitating development of the NHIN, which will tie together health information exchanges, integrated delivery networks, pharmacies, government, labs, providers, payors and other stakeholders into a "network of networks."
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has stressed, however, that the NHIN will be a public-private venture. Foundations such as the Markle Foundation
Markle Foundation
The Markle Foundation is an organization concerned with technology, health care, and national security.Emerging communications media and information technology create unprecedented opportunity to improve people's lives. The Markle Foundation works to realize this potential and promotes the use of...
, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the United States' largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care; it is based in Princeton, New Jersey. The foundation's mission is to improve the health and health care of all Americans...
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.
NHIN Participants
The stakeholders that participate in the NHIN will be four broad classes of organizations:- Care delivery organizations (CDOs) that use electronic health recordElectronic Health RecordAn electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...
s (EHRs). - Consumer organizations that operate personal health recordPersonal health recordA personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...
s (PHRs) and other consumer applications. - Health information exchanges (HIEs): multi-stakeholder entities that enable the movement of health-related data within state, regional or non-jurisdictional participant groups.
- Specialized participants: organizations that operate for specific purposes including, but not limited to, secondary users of data such as public health, research and quality assessment. The specialized nature of these organizations means that they may require only a subset of the shared architecture (standards, services and requirements), processes and procedures used by the other participants.
Health Information Service Providers (HSPs)
Some organizations may lack the necessary technical or operational competencies to conform to the architecture and provide the core services. Instead, they may choose to use the services of an HSP. An HSP is a company or other organization that will support one or more NHIN participants by providing them with operational and technical health exchange services necessary to fully qualify to connect to the NHIN.How a Person Will Use the NHIN
The business, trust and technical arrangements that will enable the NHIN generally will be localand between organizations. Nonetheless, the primary users of the NHIN will be people:
healthcare providers, healthcare consumers and those who use the data in the NHIN for public
health, quality assessment or other purposes. These people will have several ways to take
advantage of the information exchange available through the NHIN.
Access Paths to the System:
- For healthcare providers:
- Providers may use features of the electronic health record (EHR) systems of their own practice or hospital to connect to an HIE, and the HIE, in turn, will support information exchange with other EHRs or PHRs on that HIE or on other HIEs through the NHIN;
- They may not have an EHR, so they may use the Web to access a portal operated by the HIE to access information.
- For healthcare consumers:
- They may use features of a PHR that they designate as the repository of their personal health record, and that PHR may be connected to an HIE which, in turn, will provide a connection to the NHIN;
- They may use features of a multi-regional PHR that will participate directly in the NHIN;
- If they do not have access to a PHR, they may achieve some limited functionality by using the services of an HIE through its portal.