Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

Oregon to Test Statewide ‘Health IT Commons’ Approach

Healthcare Informatics: One of the definitions Wikipedia gives of the word “commons” is the “natural resources that groups of people (communities, user groups) manage for individual and collective benefit. Characteristically, this involves a variety of informal norms and values (social practice) employed for a governance mechanism.”

So what does a commons mean in the context of health information technology? Well, the State of Oregon is launching an experiment to find out. This month the Oregon Health Leadership Council (OHLC) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) released a business plan for the state’s HIT Commons. The plan is designed to guide the creation of a public/private HIT governance partnership for Oregon. Leveraging current efforts, the HIT Commons is intended to help connect existing HIT systems, support statewide solutions, and to guide future investments that support advancing health IT across the state.

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