October 2014

As debate rolls on over the impact of voter identification laws on elections in the United States, a new wrinkle has quietly been introduced: Google.

Users across the United States who use Google to search for information on whether they might need a driver's license or other form of ID to cast a ballot at their local polling place will be presented with the nitty-gritty details of the oft-complicated voting identification requirements and laws -- specified down to whatever spot in the country from which he or she happens to be searching. The new results are part of a broader Google push to increase what we might call ambient civic awareness. Google searches for "How do I vote?," for example, bring up the step-by-step process for casting a ballot, either in person or by mail, with details, too, on how to make sure a voter is registered.

Student data can help personalize a single student’s learning experience to deliver better outcomes across populations. But that data is also sensitive; it will be important that it remains under student and parent control to the extent possible, and not used for purposes inconsistent with the educational mission.

That is why, as we carry forward the Big Data Report’s mandate to consider the intersection of big data, education, and privacy, we are also looking beyond Washington to some of the exciting efforts by the public on this issue. Personalized, digital learning need not come at the expense of privacy protections, and steps like these are an important start toward creating the confidence students, teachers, and parents need to take the greatest advantage of these new tools.

[Dipayan Ghosh is with the division of the Chief Technology Officer at the Office of Science and Technology Policy]

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted the annual report to Congress on progress on the HITECH Act including health IT adoption, health information exchange and use of electronic health information to advance better care and better health. This report highlights progress and accomplishments in advancing a resilient and flexible health IT infrastructure for our nation.

In 2009 when the HITECH Act became law as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, health IT adoption among providers and hospitals was just beginning and moving slowly. Since that time, we have seen significant increases in adoption of certified technology amongst both sets of meaningful use providers. Three-quarters of eligible professionals and nine in ten eligible hospitals received incentive payments from the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. There have also been significant advances in health information exchange. More than six in ten hospitals electronically exchanged patients’ health information with any providers outside their organization, a 51 percent increase since 2008. Seven in ten health care providers use an EHR to e-prescribe on the Surescripts Network, and more than half of new and renewed prescriptions are sent electronically.

In this past year, many of our federal programs have reached important milestones:

• Our regional extension centers (REC) surpassed their goal and currently support over 100,000 providers demonstrating Stage 1 Meaningful Use.
• ONC’s Health IT Workforce Development Program concluded in 2013, training over 20,000 students.
• The State Health Information Exchange Program supported state efforts to advance exchange, resulting in 47 states and territories having directed exchange broadly available and 34 states with query-based exchange broadly available.

The 2014 congressional report highlights the recent accomplishments in the adoption and use of health IT as HHS sets a new course and navigates the future direction post-HITECH. The growing adoption of health IT, the success in digitizing the content of the care experience, puts pressure on the need for that electronic health information to be appropriately shared and used to improve health and care no matter the technology developer, information platforms, location, provider, or other boundaries. Information sharing across all provider types and among individuals is vital for improving care delivery, along with individual and community health, which means the next steps for HHS is to help realize the power and promise of health IT by ensuring that data is collected, shared and used.