Security, Cost Effectiveness and Transparency: Developing a National Health Information Network
Cybersecurity is an essential element of the federal government's plan to create a National Health Information Network (NHIN). The project, initiated by Executive Order 13335, calls for the federal government to direct the "nationwide implementation of interoperable health information technology in both the public and the private sectors."

This massive undertaking will impact all stakeholders in the public and private healthcare sectors, particularly those involved in various aspects of health informatics. As HHS's Request for Information (RFI) explained, the NHIN will require "precisely defined implementation regimens that are specified at the level of software code. There is also a need for common networking and communication tools to unify access and security."

The NHIN project will be built on standards and will require one or more entities "to develop and diffuse interoperability standards and policies." The need for security throughout the project is emphasized in the Executive Order which requires that the NHIN provide an "effective infrastructure for the secure and authorized exchange of health care information; and [e]nsures that patients' individually identifiable health information is secure and protected."

Another factor that will play a key role in the developing a NHIN is cost-benefit analysis. The Executive Order directs HHS to evaluate "evidence on the benefits and costs of interoperable health information technology and assess to whom these benefits and costs accrue..."

To build the trust necessary for successful completion of the NHIN, it also important that HHS and other federal agencies conduct their work, including cost-benefit analyses and assessments of standards and technologies, through open, transparent public processes. Equally important is that NHIN be mindful of the need to comply with the "good government laws including the Data Quality Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act and Executive Order !2866 which governs the development and implementation of federal regulations.

CyberSecure.US will report on the activities of various watchdog groups and other stakeholders who will comment on the activities of NHIN, including the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE).