New committee will advise NQF on health IT

The non-profit National Quality Forum (NQF) has formed the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) to guide its ongoing work in health information technology (HIT). Members of the new advisory committee are healthcare consumers, providers, clinicians, purchasers, suppliers, and representatives of public and community healthcare.

The committee will:

develop a strategic plan and provide ongoing guidance for NQF's HIT portfolio;

offer input on HIT projects, such as maintenance of the Quality Data Set and specification of testing requirements for eMeasures;

review electronic specifications for NQF-endorsed and candidate standards;

make 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 chief executive officer. "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, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the 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.