Federal agencies adopt uniform health information standards - Policy Watch - the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Health and Human Services adopt uniform standards - Brief Article

Healthcare Financial Management, May, 2003

Three federal departments announced on March 21 that they would adopt uniform standards for the electronic exchange of clinical health information across the federal government. HHS, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are coordinating with other federal agencies as part of the Consolidated Health Informatics (CHI) eGov initiative. Under the initiative, all federal agencies will adopt:

* Health Level 7 ([HL.sub.7]) messaging standards

* National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) standards

* The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1073 (IEEE 1073) series of standards

* Digital Imaging Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards

* Laboratory Logical Observation Identifier Name Codes (LOINC)

For more information, go to www.hhs.gov/news/press/ 2003pres/20030321a.html.