ONC Names Beacon Grant Program Managers – To Be Handed Out When Meaningful Use Is Defined And We Find The Magic Solution of Combining Science and Morality – An Urgent Situation At Hand

When will that be? My own thoughts here is that “meaningful use” is a big moving target as we have technology that throws us a new left curve every day. Certainly though those who would qualify could be the ones in the front running who are well on their way with Health IT overall. Perhaps the Beacons here too can jump in on figuring out “meaningful use” too. I still think the same, we need “meaningful algorithms” first. It’s all about those algos that provide the decision making process. Medical devices that report data have not been adequately added within either. We have to give thought to the fact that devices are now entering data too and it’s not all just humans.

Meaningful Use We Have the Name But Now for Some Standards? Let’s try Meaningful Algorithms Instead

Get that Department of Algorithms going soon, we need it to define rules, laws and provisions and those who can create constructive, not destructive algorithms, as those exist too and we need to learn to recognize the difference. If you are confused on that matter, watch this video from TED – Sam Harris will explain the science and morality issues that we need to look at, and so far, very few are cognizant of this fact.

(By the way did you know that ONC is a truck? Had to do that as a throw back to another life in logistics and actually the company has been gone for years but I remember the trucks, click on the image if you want to see more images.) BD

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has named two healthcare policy experts to manage its “Beacon” communities project, a $200 million grant program designed to showcase how health IT can improve population health.

ONC named Aaron McKethan, a research director at the Brookings Institution’s Engelber Center for Health Reform as the Beacon program director.

Craig Brammer, a project director at Cincinnati’s Aligning Forces for Quality, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was named deputy director. He will report to McKethan.

McKethan came on board March 15 and Brammer will start in April, an ONC spokesman said.

Under the Beacon Communities program, ONC will award grants to about 15 non-profit organizations or government bodies where communities are well on their way to meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs).

http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=73363