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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.
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[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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