Learn about ONC-Sponsored Model-Driven Health Tools Project

I love it when the Government gets involved in something worthwhile. This is definitely one of those cases, and I've been an MDHT fan-boy for quite some time...

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ONC-Sponsored Model-Driven Health Tools Project A government/private sector open source collaboration was recently formed between the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), IBM Research (NYSE: IBM), and Open Health Tools. This project focuses on simplifying standards-based health information exchange.   The Model-Driven Health Tools (MDHT) project leverages models of existing standards to produce integrated and accessible guides along with actual working and tested software supporting the standard.  This approach replaces current industry practice requiring each participating company or organization to interpret the standard and independently develop the standards.  The result lowers both cost and hurdles preventing organizations from participating in electronic health information exchanges. Additionally, MDHT supports a full lifecycle standards development process providing a solution that allows standards designers and implementers to actively collaborate.  The agile process enables designers to quickly validate all aspects of the standards rules as practical and feasible before they become normative standards. ONC's participation, which began in January 2011, was spearheaded by Dr. Doug Fridsma, Director of the Office of Standards and Interoperability within ONC. The MDHT Project 1.0 release was a response to a 2008 request for initiation by the VA and VHA. This release is the first of many sets of standards the group intends to create. MDHT currently supports the Meaningful Use Standard, Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) Patient Summary Document (C32) and the Consolidated CDA Project. MDHT also provides support to other ONC S&I Framework Initiatives, including the Transitions Of Care and the Consolidated CDA initiatives. For more information about MDHT or to get involved, please visit https://mdht.projects.openhealthtools.org. .