Healthcare Celebrates 9th Annual National Health IT Week
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
The ninth annual, week-long national forum for developing common ground among public- and private-sector organizations is a perfect opportunity to advance health IT causes.
Each year, the Institute for e-Health Policy coordinates and develops National Health IT Week (NHIT) as the leading national forum for developing common ground among public- and private-sector organizations with a goal of advancing the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of care through the best use of IT and management systems.
NHIT Week – running this year from September 15 through September 19 – is a collaborative forum and virtual awareness week that assembles key healthcare constituents dedicated to working together to elevate the necessity of advancing health through the best use of information technology. With a projected 400 partners, NHIT Week brings this important cause to the forefront of the nation’s attention through local and regional events hosted by NHIT Partners.
NHIT Week raises awareness of health information technology’s power to improve the health and health care of patients across the nation. NHIT Week celebrates the efforts that have been made – and are being made – through the use of Health IT in the transformation of how care is delivered, health information shared, quality measured, reimbursements dispersed, and patients engaged in their own health and health care.
There were more than 375 participant organizations in NHIT Week 2013, which was recognized by the U.S. Senate with a resolution declaring National Health IT Week.
During NHIT Week, the Institute for e-Health Policy’s Capitol Hill Health IT Steering Committee hosts its annual all-day Health Information Technology Showcase, attended by more than 300 government, industry, and educational leaders.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has selected key themes for each day of Health IT Week.
- Patient Engagement
- Advancing Interoperability Through Meaningful Use
- Advancing Interoperability Across the Care Continuum – Beyond
- Advancing Interoperability Through Standards
- Clinical Quality & Safety
Those not in Washington, D.C. can still join this week-long, nationwide celebration of the value of health IT by considering these 10 tips from the National Health IT Week Toolkit:
- participate in the NHIT Week Social Media Conversation
- promote NHIT Week in your existing communications
- incorporate NHIT Week into an upcoming activity
- promote NHIT Week internally
- distribute a news release
- write an op-ed
- proclaim NHIT Week
- host a NHIT Week Event
- conduct a tour of your facility
- reach out to reporters
Join or follow the NHIT Week conversation on Twitter using #NHITWeek, and visit www.healthitweek.org for more information.