Speak up for accessible e-health records!

Comment period open until March 15, 2010, 5:00 pm ET.

Weigh in on the imperative that health information technology and electronic health records be accessible and usable to all. Post comments to the public comment site.

Here is an excerpt from the Call for Comments in the federal register:

• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing this interim final rule with a request for comments to adopt an initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria, as required by section 3004(b)(1) of the  Public Health Service Act. This interim final rule represents the first step in an incremental approach to adopting standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria to enhance the interoperability, functionality, utility, and security of health information technology and to support its meaningful use. The certification criteria adopted in this initial set establish the capabilities and related standards that certified electronic health record (EHR) technology will need to include in order  to, at a minimum, support theachievement of the proposed meaningful use Stage 1 (beginning in 2011) by eligible professionals and  eligible hospitals under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.

Post your comments today and ensure that this new federal initiative reflects the best that we know about accessibility.  

Learn more about this topic with these two reports;

• Health Information Technology in the United States 2009: On the Cusp of Change. Published by the Massachusetts General Hospital and the School of Public Health and Health Services at George Washington University, with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
• The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities. Published by the National Council on Disability.

Thanks to NCTI Advisory Board member, David Baquis, an Acessibility Specialist with the U.S. Access Board, who drew our attention to this opportunity.