Statement

It has been nearly two years since we published the “Roadmap” report—Achieving Electronic Connectivity in Healthcare: A Preliminary Roadmap from the Nation’s Public and Private Sector Healthcare Leaders. Today we take a step further with release of the Common Framework.

The Roadmap sketched a bold vision of nationwide health information exchange through a decentralized network of networks united by a “Common Framework” of shared policies and technical standards. The report was groundbreaking not only in its practical vision that put patient privacy first, but also in the diversity of stakeholders that participated in its development. Our members overcame sometimes contradictory viewpoints to find shared solutions to problems that have remained intractable for decades. More than 50,000 copies of the Roadmap are now in circulation.

In early 2005 we broadened and deepened the Roadmap vision by collaborating on a joint response to a Request for Information issued by the Federal Office of the National Coordinator with an even more diverse group of 13 influential organizations in addition to the 100 or so members of the Steering Group. Through these efforts our vision and words gained greater clarity and reach than we had dreamed possible. But we were determined not to stop at words.

Within the last year we have built a working prototype of the Roadmap model—together we have learned how three very different communities, with different hardware, software, and organizational structures, can in fact share information in a private and secure way over the Internet using a Common Framework. Our partners in Mendocino County, CA, Indianapolis, and Boston worked closely with a Markle Connecting for Health Technical Subcommittee and Policy Subcommittee made up of more than 75 people drawn from the Markle Connecting for Health Steering Group plus other recognized experts. The Subcommittees helped to shape and test the prototype, documented the lessons of its implementation, and drafted a first iteration of the Common Framework, which we are releasing today. Although it is just a start, we are confident that it will evolve to meet the needs of a varied and fragmented healthcare system. We invite others to use, adapt, and help us to improve the Common Framework.

As Markle Connecting for Health has been constructing a prototype and Common Framework, several complementary developments have taken place, building on the ongoing efforts of local communities: new communities for health information exchange are forming with great speed, Federal and State governments have put an unprecedented spotlight on the importance of health information technology, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the National Coordinator have provided their leadership and millions of dollars toward a connected healthcare system, and Congress has sponsored many initiatives—all designed to further health information sharing.

Despite these efforts, the road ahead remains long and the precise path is uncertain; we must chart its course together. Markle Connecting for Health and its many partners from across the professions, industry, and the patient community will continue to enable the private, secure, and nationwide exchange of health information. We remain committed to this goal because we know that access to reliable, relevant information where and when it’s needed is essential to the improvement of healthcare safety, efficiency, and quality. A new infrastructure for health information sharing will also provide the foundation for a transformed, 21st century healthcare system in which patients and families can better understand their own health and engage more fully in their care through direct access to their own health information.

Members of the Markle Connecting for Health Steering Group

Carol Diamond, MD, MPH, Markle Foundation, (Chair)

Daniel Garrett, Computer Sciences Corporation’s Global Health Solutions Practice, (Vice Chair)

John R. Lumpkin, MD, MPH, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, (Vice Chair)

Herbert Pardes, MD, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, (Vice Chair)

Peter A. Andersen, MD, Lockheed Martin Information Technology

Zoë Baird, Markle Foundation, (ex-officio)

Robert Bogin, MD, American Cancer Society

William Braithwaite, MD, eHealth Initiative, (Co-Chair, Policy Subcommittee)

Claire Broome,* MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Gary Christopherson,* Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services

Carolyn Clancy,* MD, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Janet Corrigan, PhD, National Committee for Quality Health Care

Mike Cummins, VHA Inc.

Francois de Brantes, Bridges To Excellence and Prometheus

Mary Jo Deering,* PhD, National Cancer Institute/ National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Colin Evans, Intel Corporation

Mark Frisse, MD, MBA, MSc, Vanderbilt Center for Better Health, (Co-Chair, Policy Subcommittee)

J. Peter Geerlofs, MD, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions

John Glaser, PhD, Partners HealthCare System

John Halamka, MD, CareGroup Healthcare System

Linda Harris,* PhD, National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services

Douglas Henley, MD, American Academy of Family Physicians

Joseph Heyman, MD, American Medical Association

Yin Ho, MD, Pfizer, Inc.

Kevin Hutchinson, SureScripts

Michael Jackman, Eastman Kodak Company

William F. Jessee, MD, Medical Group Management Association

Y. Michele Kang, Northrop Grumman Corporation

Michael L. Kappel, McKesson Provider Technologies

Brian Keaton, MD, FACEP, American College of Emergency Physicians

Linda Kloss, RHIA, CAE, American Health Information Management Association

Allan Korn, MD, FACP, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association

David Lansky, PhD, Markle Foundation, (Chair, Personal Health Technology Council)

Gail Latimer, MSN, RN, Siemens Corporation

Jack Lewin, MD, California Medical Association

Stephen Lieber, CAE, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

Patricia MacTaggart, EDS Executive State and Local Government

Janet M. Marchibroda, eHealth Initiative

Howard Messing, Meditech

Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH, The Leapfrog Group

Margaret O’Kane, National Committee for Quality Assurance

Dennis O’Leary, MD, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

J. Marc Overhage, MD, PhD, Indiana Health Information Exchange; Indiana University School of Medicine, Regenstrief Institute for Healthcare

Alison Rein, National Consumers League

Russell J. Ricci, MD, HealthSTAR Communications

Craig Richardson, Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc.

Wes Rishel, Gartner Group

William Rollow,* MD, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, United States Department of Health and Human Services

David Schulke, The American Health Quality Association

Steve Shihadeh, Microsoft Corporation

Clay Shirky, New York University, (Chair, Technical Subcommittee)

Steve Sleigh, PhD, International Association of Machine and Aerospace Workers Ellen Stovall, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

Thomas Sullivan, MD, Women’s Health Center Cardiology, AMA-Council on Medical Service, DrFirst.com

Paul Tang, MD, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, American Medical Informatics Association

Randy L. Thomas, IBM Corporation

Robin Thomashauer, Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare

John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP, American College of Physicians

Micky Tripathi, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative

Charlene Underwood, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, EHR Vendor Association

Scott Wallace, The National Alliance for Health Information Technology

Andrew Wiesenthal, MD, The Permanente Federation

Robert B. Williams, MD, MIS, Deloitte

Rochelle Woolley, RxHub

Hugh Zettel, GE Healthcare Integrated IT Solutions

* Note: Federal employees participate in the Steering Group but make no endorsement.