ONC: Time to 'double down' on putting patients first

Under the leadership of Farzad Mostashari, MD, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT will "double down" on its efforts to smooth the path for healthcare providers in adopting electronic health records and to put the patient front and center in its programs and message. It will also be more aware of an expected explosion of consumer e-health tools and products as a result of wider use of health IT by providers and the volume of electronic information that becomes available. These are not entirely new directions, but ONC will give them greater emphasis as providers start to do the complex work of establishing electronic health records and performing the measures to meet meaningful use, Mostashari said.