It has been nearly two years since we published the “Roadmap” report—Achieving Electronic Connectivity in Healthcare: A Preliminary Roadmap from the Nation’s Public and Private Sector Healthcare Leaders. Today we take a step further with release of the Common Framework.
The Roadmap sketched a bold vision of nationwide health information exchange through a decentralized network of networks united by a “Common Framework” of shared policies and technical standards. The report was groundbreaking not only in its practical vision that put patient privacy first, but also in the diversity of stakeholders that participated in its development. Our members overcame sometimes contradictory viewpoints to find shared solutions to problems that have remained intractable for decades. More than 50,000 copies of the Roadmap are now in circulation.
In early 2005 we broadened and deepened the Roadmap vision by collaborating on a joint response to a Request for Information issued by the Federal Office of the National Coordinator with an even more diverse group of 13 influential organizations in addition to the 100 or so members of the Steering Group. Through these efforts our vision and words gained greater clarity and reach than we had dreamed possible. But we were determined not to stop at words.
Within the last year we have built a working prototype of the Roadmap model—together we have learned how three very different communities, with different hardware, software, and organizational structures, can in fact share information in a private and secure way over the Internet using a Common Framework. Our partners in Mendocino County, CA, Indianapolis, and Boston worked closely with a Markle Connecting for Health Technical Subcommittee and Policy Subcommittee made up of more than 75 people drawn from the Markle Connecting for Health Steering Group plus other recognized experts. The Subcommittees helped to shape and test the prototype, documented the lessons of its implementation, and drafted a first iteration of the Common Framework, which we are releasing today. Although it is just a start, we are confident that it will evolve to meet the needs of a varied and fragmented healthcare system. We invite others to use, adapt, and help us to improve the Common Framework.
As Markle Connecting for Health has been constructing a prototype and Common Framework, several complementary developments have taken place, building on the ongoing efforts of local communities: new communities for health information exchange are forming with great speed, Federal and State governments have put an unprecedented spotlight on the importance of health information technology, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the National Coordinator have provided their leadership and millions of dollars toward a connected healthcare system, and Congress has sponsored many initiatives—all designed to further health information sharing.
Despite these efforts, the road ahead remains long and the precise path is uncertain; we must chart its course together. Markle Connecting for Health and its many partners from across the professions, industry, and the patient community will continue to enable the private, secure, and nationwide exchange of health information. We remain committed to this goal because we know that access to reliable, relevant information where and when it’s needed is essential to the improvement of healthcare safety, efficiency, and quality. A new infrastructure for health information sharing will also provide the foundation for a transformed, 21st century healthcare system in which patients and families can better understand their own health and engage more fully in their care through direct access to their own health information.
Carol Diamond, MD, MPH, Markle Foundation, (Chair)
Daniel Garrett, Computer Sciences Corporation’s Global Health Solutions Practice, (Vice Chair)
John R. Lumpkin, MD, MPH, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, (Vice Chair)
Herbert Pardes, MD, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, (Vice Chair)
Peter A. Andersen, MD, Lockheed Martin Information Technology
Zoë Baird, Markle Foundation, (ex-officio)
Robert Bogin, MD, American Cancer Society
William Braithwaite, MD, eHealth Initiative, (Co-Chair, Policy Subcommittee)
Claire Broome,* MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Gary Christopherson,* Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services
Carolyn Clancy,* MD, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, United States Department of Health and Human Services
Janet Corrigan, PhD, National Committee for Quality Health Care
Mike Cummins, VHA Inc.
Francois de Brantes, Bridges To Excellence and Prometheus
Mary Jo Deering,* PhD, National Cancer Institute/ National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services
Colin Evans, Intel Corporation
Mark Frisse, MD, MBA, MSc, Vanderbilt Center for Better Health, (Co-Chair, Policy Subcommittee)
J. Peter Geerlofs, MD, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions
John Glaser, PhD, Partners HealthCare System
John Halamka, MD, CareGroup Healthcare System
Linda Harris,* PhD, National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services
Douglas Henley, MD, American Academy of Family Physicians
Joseph Heyman, MD, American Medical Association
Yin Ho, MD, Pfizer, Inc.
Kevin Hutchinson, SureScripts
Michael Jackman, Eastman Kodak Company
William F. Jessee, MD, Medical Group Management Association
Y. Michele Kang, Northrop Grumman Corporation
Michael L. Kappel, McKesson Provider Technologies
Brian Keaton, MD, FACEP, American College of Emergency Physicians
Linda Kloss, RHIA, CAE, American Health Information Management Association
Allan Korn, MD, FACP, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association
David Lansky, PhD, Markle Foundation, (Chair, Personal Health Technology Council)
Gail Latimer, MSN, RN, Siemens Corporation
Jack Lewin, MD, California Medical Association
Stephen Lieber, CAE, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
Patricia MacTaggart, EDS Executive State and Local Government
Janet M. Marchibroda, eHealth Initiative
Howard Messing, Meditech
Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH, The Leapfrog Group
Margaret O’Kane, National Committee for Quality Assurance
Dennis O’Leary, MD, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
J. Marc Overhage, MD, PhD, Indiana Health Information Exchange; Indiana University School of Medicine, Regenstrief Institute for Healthcare
Alison Rein, National Consumers League
Russell J. Ricci, MD, HealthSTAR Communications
Craig Richardson, Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc.
Wes Rishel, Gartner Group
William Rollow,* MD, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, United States Department of Health and Human Services
David Schulke, The American Health Quality Association
Steve Shihadeh, Microsoft Corporation
Clay Shirky, New York University, (Chair, Technical Subcommittee)
Steve Sleigh, PhD, International Association of Machine and Aerospace Workers Ellen Stovall, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
Thomas Sullivan, MD, Women’s Health Center Cardiology, AMA-Council on Medical Service, DrFirst.com
Paul Tang, MD, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, American Medical Informatics Association
Randy L. Thomas, IBM Corporation
Robin Thomashauer, Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare
John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP, American College of Physicians
Micky Tripathi, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative
Charlene Underwood, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, EHR Vendor Association
Scott Wallace, The National Alliance for Health Information Technology
Andrew Wiesenthal, MD, The Permanente Federation
Robert B. Williams, MD, MIS, Deloitte
Rochelle Woolley, RxHub
Hugh Zettel, GE Healthcare Integrated IT Solutions
* Note: Federal employees participate in the Steering Group but make no endorsement.
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These works were originally published as part of the Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework: Resources for Implementing Private and Secure Health Information Exchange. They are made available free of charge, but subject to the terms of a License. You may make copies of these works; however, by copying or exercising any other rights to the works, you accept and agree to be bound by the terms of the License. All copies of these works must reproduce this copyright information and notice.
