On Tuesday, April 20, the Meaningful Use Workgroup of the Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee will hold a daylong public hearing in Washington, DC to hear expert testimony on the topic of consumer engagement and meaningful use of HIT. The Workgroup will hear from three panels on the following topics: 1) meaningful use of HIT in the lives of patients and families; 2) incorporating patient-generated data in meaningful use of HIT; and 3) to facilitate the meaningful use of HIT by patients and consumers. The meeting is open to the public, and registration is not required.

The Meaningful Use Workgroup provides recommendations to the larger federal advisory committee on the definition of meaningful use in the long and short-term, the ways in which electronic health records can support meaningful use, and how providers can demonstrate meaningful use.

View the meeting agenda

Learn more about the HIT Policy Committee

Families USA recently launched Health Reform Central, a new website that helps health advocates across the country understand the recently passed comprehensive health reform bill and assists states in preparing for the implementation of the new law. The site includes features that allow readers to learn about the impact of reform on a state-by-state basis, identify roadblocks to the law's implementation, and access publications pertaining to health reform.

Visit Health Reform Central

Learn more about Families USA

On Wednesday, April 7, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an Open Government Plan that details how the agency will implement the Obama Administration's goals of transparency, participation, and collaboration. In December 2009, the White House directed all government agencies and executive departments to create such plans with the overarching goal of making government more accessible for the public. The HHS plan, as its official response to this directive, aims to leverage HHS data to create and implement a number of improvements and interactive tools. The public can view the plan online and provide comments on individual pages.

View the HHS Open Government Plan

Read more about the Open Government Initiative

On Wednesday, April 7, President Obama announced his intention to appoint 10 individuals to the newly established Presidential commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. The commission, established in November 2009 by an Executive Order, is tasked with making policy-oriented and ethics-based recommendations to the President in response to advancements in biomedicine, science, and technology. Amy Gutmann, PhD, former President of the University of Pennsylvania, was named chair of this commission upon its establishment, teaming with James Wagner, PhD, President of Emory University, who was appointed as Vice Chair.

Read the White House announcement, including the list and brief bios of the 10 appointees.