The Obama administration is taking steps to simplify the implementation of its health IT strategy. A memo from the Office of Management and Budget has been sent to a number of Federal agencies, proposing the creation of a new Health Information Technology (HIT) taskforce.

According to the memo, the US government’s past attempts to expand the use of IT in the healthcare sector have been disrupted by "a mix of ad hoc councils and advisory groups" heading things up. The hope is that the new taskforce will result in better coordination between different Federal agencies and a smoother implementation of President Obama’s Health IT agenda.

The memo suggests that the proposed task force would meet twice a week, or once a month. During the first meeting, working groups will be formed to identify key HIT priorities and how to achieve them, support the government’s vision for HIT, as laid out by the HITECH ACT and provide formal input into the HIT Policy and Standards Committees.

One key priority is likely to be how to ensure meaningful use from HIT implementations. This is something that’s already high on the agenda for medical organizations – late last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed to implement an incentives initiative, in which organizations that achieve ‘meaningful use’ from electronic health record (EHR) technology are rewarded with government funding.

This is also likely to be a major topic of discussion at HIMSS 10, one of the biggest events on the healthcare calendar. The conference will feature several workshops and symposiums, discussing how HIT vendors can help organizations achieve meaningful use.

The wider topic of the transformational role of HIT in the US will be discussed by the Honorable Jim Douglas, Governor of Vermont, and with technology in the healthcare industry so high on the government’s agenda, this is likely to be another popular track.

HIMSS 10 is in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1-4 March 2010. For more information about the event, click here.