December 1st is World AIDS Day, when we collectively remember those who died due to AIDS-related illnesses and renew our commitment to work together to end the HIV epidemic and support people with HIV. This year’s theme, “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV,” emphasizes accountability and action. Collaborative, community-based, cross sector, and whole-of-government approaches that address clinical and social determinants of health (SDOH) are needed to support communities disproportionally affected by HIV and achieve national HIV/AIDS goals.

The post This World AIDS Day – Reflecting on Health IT as a Tool for Advancing Health Equity and Ending the HIV Epidemic appeared first on Health IT Buzz.

ONC launched the Strengthening the Technical Advancement and Readiness of Public Health Agencies via Health Information Exchange (STAR HIE) Program in 2020 using funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The program was expanded in 2021 to increase support for efforts to improve vaccination data sharing between jurisdictional Immunization Information Systems (IIS) and HIEs. The West Virginia Health Information Network (WVHIN) was among the 22 recipients that received a combined $20 million in funds from ONC via the CARES Act.

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Hot off the presses, the Pediatric Health Information Technology: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Informational Resource (NAS IR) [PDF – 808 KB] is a new resource from ONC to support pediatric care and practice settings specific to neonatal abstinence syndrome. The NAS IR builds upon prior efforts included in the ONC Pediatric Health Information Technology Informational Resources (IR) for health IT developers and for health care providers, and includes information about the implementation of health IT and its use as part of delivering health care to infants experiencing withdrawal after maternal exposure to opioids and other substances during pregnancy.

The post Addressing Evolving Health Information Technology Needs in Pediatric Care: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Informational Resource (IR) appeared first on Health IT Buzz.

This blog post is co-authored with Jennifer Roberts, Assistant Director for Health Technologies, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Grail Sipes, Assistant Director for Biomedical Regulatory Policy, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for a coordinated clinical trials enterprise, one that can swiftly characterize emerging viral threats and evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines, therapeutics, and other countermeasures across a diversity of trial participants.

The post OSTP, in Partnership with ONC, Seeks Input on Optimizing Data Capture for Clinical Trials appeared first on Health IT Buzz.