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I’ve mentioned a few times about the very interesting CONNECT open source project that was coming out of ONC. In fact, I did a video about CONNECT and NHIN at HIMSS. Turns out the mastermind behind CONNECT is a guy named Vish Sankaran.

Well, I just got news that Vish will be leaving ONC and FHA to pursue other opportunities. This is a real loss for ONC. It will be interesting to watch the progress of CONNECT and the NHIN without Vish at ONC.

The following is the letter that Vish sent out about his departure.

Dear Friends,

Within the next several weeks I will be departing from the Federal Health Architecture program to seek other opportunities.

This was not an easy decision, but it comes at an ideal time for FHA and for me, when FHA is reshaping to fit in with the overarching federal health IT body being formed.

This is also a great time to bring in new leadership to further the great work you’ve already accomplished. And on the personal front, I am exploring exciting new opportunities that will allow me to continue my passion.

My departure has allowed me to look back and review FHA’s legacy – a legacy built through all of our hard work. I joined the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT shortly after our nation’s leadership issued Presidential Executive Order 13335, which set up the ONC and called for a commitment to build a nationwide electronic health information system.

When agencies were called upon to work together to enable interoperability and improve services to their beneficiaries, the agencies responded! Twenty federal agencies came together to discuss more than challenges – they joined workgroups dedicated to determining common needs, worked together to develop tools and solutions, and most importantly, they shared their experiences in advancing health IT within their own agencies and with their counterparts. We all learned and benefited from this collaboration.

Our achievements have been significant, creating a template for how the public and private sectors could work together to set a new bar for health information exchange and to create an “ecosystem” of buyers and sellers in the marketplace. A great illustration of our collaboration is the CONNECT solution, which has been adopted by both government agencies and the private sector. This open-source platform has evolved into a venue for innovation which continues to this day.

Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. FHA has been on the agenda of more than 150 conferences and meetings dedicated to health IT. Media coverage of the program can be found in a wide range of publications and online media sites. Most gratifying is that our program has received seven awards from organizations recognizing innovation in health IT.

Without your strong and steadfast support, we would not have made the mark that we did. My time here was my first exposure to the inner-workings of the federal government – and more than anything else, I learned that our government is staffed with dedicated and hard working individuals. I wish all Americans would have had the opportunity to share my experience. I now understand that public service is more than a career – it is a calling.

I look forward to continuing to be involved in the national effort to make health and human services a transformative force for our society. I know that I will have the opportunity to see many of you again. Until I do, I trust you know that you have my thanks and appreciation for all you have done during my tenure as FHA Program Director. Let us keep advancing the “openness” in our government activities and work across the public and private sector to reduce cost and improve health and human services to our citizens.

Friends, the “Patient is Waiting”!

Take care,

Vish Sankaran
Program Director
Federal Health Architecture
Office of the National Coordinator for HIT

Ever since I first saw Fred Trotter’s post about CONNECT being the future of EMR interoperability, I was really interested in the open source software CONNECT. Of course, when the PR person from ONC emailed me with an opportunity to talk with someone from ONC, I jumped at the chance.

The following is a short video where I tried to capture what ONC is doing with NHIN and CONNECT so that people can be more informed on these 2 projects. I hope you enjoy:

This video coverage of HIMSS 10 sponsored by Practice Fusion and their Free EMR.

I’ll admit beforehand that I’m a member of the Fred Trotter fan club. He’s a little bit psycho when it comes to open source licensing and the like, but that’s probably why I love him so much. When he truly believes in something he’s fully engaged in that cause.

So, of course I am completely interested in Fred Trotter’s blog post about CONNECT where he said the following:

The right conversation starts with this: we can assume that CONNECT -will- unify the health information transfer in the US. It will serve as the basis for the core NHIN and regional networks will have the option of implementing it. That means that CONNECT sets the bar for health exchange. Software must be as good as CONNECT to be considered for a local Health Information Exchange, otherwise, why not use CONNECT?

I think this is the second time that I’ve heard the name of the project CONNECT like this. I think that’s a sign that I better do some more looking into this project.