Health Resources and Services Administration January 25, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The following represents a series of respondents' comments and the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) responses to the comments regarding the Federal Register notice (FRN): September 19, 2006 (71 FR 54829). The FRN proposed strategies to support health information technology (HIT) among safety net providers, and requested comments on HIT topic areas addressing quality improvement, collaboration, general network-related issues, specific health center controlled network (HCCN) related issues, sustainability and building HIT capacity. HRSA received a total of 53 comments from a broad range of stakeholders, including State health departments, non-profit organizations, individual healthcare providers and the health information technology industry. HRSA's responses reflect activities within the Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) that include, but are not limited to, the development of an HRSA HIT strategic plan, technical assistance resources including the establishment of the HRSA HIT virtual community, the development of HIT online toolboxes tailored to the needs of various HRSA programs, a TA resource center, and the development of funding opportunities. The comments have helped, in part, to shape the direction and activities of OHIT.