NQF Forms New Health IT Advisory Committee
Washington, DC, May 10, 2010—To guide its ongoing work in health information technology, the National Quality Forum (NQF) has formed a new Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC). Members of the new advisory committee represent a wide range of healthcare stakeholders, including consumers, providers, clinicians, purchasers, suppliers, and public and community healthcare. The NQF Board of Directors approved the creation of HITAC, charging the body with:
• developing a strategic plan and providing ongoing guidance for NQF’s HIT portfolio;
• offering input on HIT projects, such as maintenance of the Quality Data Set and specification of testing requirements for eMeasures;
• reviewing electronic specifications for NQF-endorsed® and candidate standards; and
• making recommendations on the endorsement and maintenance of HIT-related consensus standards.
“HIT has great potential to accelerate quality improvement in healthcare,” said Janet Corrigan, NQF president and CEO. “We’re fortunate to have such a diverse group of experts from across the healthcare system to guide NQF’s work in this area. Their expertise will help guide work to ensure electronic health records and personal health records are capable of measuring and reporting on quality to drive transformations in care delivery. They will also play a key role in the integration of HIT and performance measures.”
HITAC is a standing committee of the NQF Board of Directors and includes non-voting federal liaisons from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Indian Health Service, the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT, and the Veterans Health Administration. Members of HITAC are eligible to serve three-year terms. To stagger the future appointment cycle, inaugural HITAC members will serve one-, two-, or three-year terms.
About National Quality Forum
The mission of the National Quality Forum is to improve the quality of American healthcare by setting national priorities and goals for performance improvement, endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance, and promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs. NQF, a non-profit organization (qualityforum.org) with diverse stakeholders across the public and private health sectors, was established in 1999 and is based in Washington, DC.