2012-6437. HIT Policy Committee Advisory Meeting; Notice of Meeting

AGENCY:

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice of meeting.

This notice announces a forthcoming meeting of a public advisory committee of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The meeting will be open to the public.

Name of Committee: HIT Policy Committee.

General Function of the Committee: To provide recommendations to the National Coordinator on a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure that permits the electronic exchange and use of health information as is consistent with the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan and that includes recommendations on the areas in which standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria are needed.

Date and Time: The meeting will be held on April 4, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m./Eastern Time.

Location: Washington Marriott, 1221 22nd Street NW., Washington, DC 20037. For up-to-date information, go to the ONC Web site, http://healthit.hhs.gov.

Contact Person: Mary Jo Deering, Office of the National Coordinator, HHS, 330 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20201, 202-260-1944, Fax: [phone], email: [e-mail]. Please call the contact person for up-to-date information on this meeting. A notice in the Federal Register about last minute modifications that impact a previously announced advisory committee meeting cannot always be published quickly enough to provide timely notice.

Agenda: The committee will hear reports from its workgroups, including the Meaningful Use Workgroup, and updates from ONC and other Federal agencies. ONC intends to make background material available to the public no later than two (2) business days prior to the meeting. If ONC is unable to post the background material on its Web site prior to the meeting, it will be made publicly available at the location of the advisory committee meeting, and the background material will be posted on ONC's Web site after the meeting, at http://healthit.hhs.gov.

Procedure: Interested persons may present data, information, or views, orally or in writing, on issues pending before the workgroups. Written submissions may be made to the contact person on or before two days prior to the workgroup's meeting date. Oral comments from the public will be scheduled at the conclusion of each workgroup meeting. Time allotted for each presentation will be limited to three minutes. If the number of speakers requesting to comment is greater than can be reasonably accommodated during the scheduled open public session, ONC will take written comments after the meeting until close of business on that day.

Persons attending ONC's advisory committee meetings are advised that the agency is not responsible for providing access to electrical outlets.

ONC welcomes the attendance of the public at its advisory committee meetings. Seating is limited at the location, and ONC will make every effort to accommodate persons with physical disabilities or special needs. If you require special accommodations due to a disability, please contact Mary Jo Deering at least seven (7) days in advance of the meeting.

ONC is committed to the orderly conduct of its advisory committee meetings. Please visit our Web site at http://healthit.hhs.gov for procedures on public conduct during advisory committee meetings.

Notice of this meeting is given under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 5 U.S.C., App. 2).

Dated: March 8, 2012.

Mary Jo Deering,

Office of Policy and Planning, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.