HHS's Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has launched a new site to spread the gospel of interoperability and its developing projects.
The ONC, which is tasked with helping update the nation's health IT infrastructure network, debuted its Interoperability Proving Ground on Feb. 24 as a network to share and update stakeholders about ongoing interoperability projects.
"At ONC, we are focused on providing you with the chance to inspire colleagues, share experiences, and describe lessons learned when it comes to interoperability," said Steven Posnack, ONC's director of the Office of Standards and Technology, in a post announcing the Interoperability Proving Ground.
"We believe that doing so will maximize opportunities for collaboration, cooperation, and communication when it comes to: making it easier for patients to be an active member of their care team; enabling health care providers to send, receive, find, and use health information when and where it is needed; and fostering a vibrant and innovative health IT ecosystem."
The site provides users with a community-generated log of interoperability projects that are complete and in-development around the nation, detailing their function and applications. The goal is to deliver both communication and inspiration to developers working on interoperability projects.
Interoperability has been a big push for the ONC, which released its health IT strategic plan and an interoperability roadmap last fall. As part of a strategy to link electronic health records across networks, interoperability focuses on making it possible for data to be shared across systems.
But since interoperability requires collaboration, the IPG is meant to open the conversation on how to make these health systems work. Posnack said ONC has included its interoperability projects on the site to give developers insight and inspiration.
"No matter how big or how small, every interoperability project you add to the IPG will make a difference and enrich the IPG's potential for the entire health IT community," he said. "The IPG is your chance to showcase your interoperability work nationwide, connect with peers tackling interoperability issues, and make visible progress toward a future where we are all part of a learning health system."
