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[ Heart beat and pulse monitor ]
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[Narrator:] The art of healing--
of improving the nation?s
healthcare system--
moves forward on a
variety of fronts.
One of the most significant
of these is
that of Electronic
Health Records,
a component of Health
Information Technology.
Health IT has become a
top national priority--
a goal that promises a variety
of benefits for Americans.
It promises higher quality and
more efficient health care.
It promises seamless, secure,
private movement of data
between heath care
providers and consumers
without compromise or loss.
It promises access to medical
histories at the point of care
and in other settings.
It promises fewer errors
and redundant tests.
And, it promises more
efficient reporting,
including public health
and quality monitoring.
Collaborating with industry and
others, the National Institute
of Standards and
Technology-- NIST--
has played, and continues
to play, a major role
in improving healthcare
delivery through the use
of information technology.
[Bettijoyce Lide:] The NIST
Health IT Program?is doing the
most robust part of
all NIST?s efforts.
Other labs at NIST do
contribute to these efforts,
so it?s a NIST-wide program.
One of the things the
Information Technology Lab does
is work with others
to collaborate
on the standards
that are needed.
Our collaborators include
private industry, academia,
other federal agencies,
professional societies,
and all of those entities
like to work with NIST
because they look at NIST
as having the knowledge,
the leadership, the experience,
and also we?re a neutral broker.
[Narrator:] Demonstrating these
qualities since the early 1990s,
NIST, through its
Health IT Program,
has been a driving
force in the progress
that has defined
this vital field.
Through research
and development,
NIST has been uniquely
positioned
to apply science capabilities
that enable adoption
of Health IT.
To achieve that adoption,
improvements
to the healthcare information
infrastructure must be made
so that the goal of electronic
medical records can be realized.
[Amy Phelps:] With
regards to Health IT,
NIST is conducting
research and development
on infrastructural standards
or underlying standards
for an emerging Health
IT Network.
The network is secure, usable,
testable, and so the standards
within this network are
unambiguous and complete.
[Bettijoyce Lide:] The
one single most important
characteristic would be that the
entire system be interoperable.
That means is that if
electronic records are created
by two different
developers in our country,
those systems would still be
able to talk to each other
and the data in one would be
available to and by the other.
[ Music ]
[Narrator:] From standards
and testing to security,
from certification to usability
to emerging technologies,
NIST is engaged in wide
ranging efforts designed
to speed the advancement,
and further the implementation,
of Health IT.
These efforts will
help provide Americans
with better healthcare,
healthcare that is safer,
more affordable, and available.
In the final analysis that?s
why Health IT is so important--
and what NIST is working toward!
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