The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released its Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for 2011 through 2015 on September 12. The update could lead to some important changes in the administration of government programs that encourage EHR implementation.

The most consequential update deals with the timing for stage 2 of the meaningful use incentives program. The authors of the plan suggest pushing the deadline for compliance back to 2014 for providers who have attested in 2011 or 2012. This proposal comes after many professional groups have complained about the looming stage 2 deadline being too soon.

Additionally, the plan says the Department of Health and Human Services' HIT Policy Committee and HIT Standards Committee should continue developing rules for information privacy.

Another key component of the plan calls for greater support for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to enable the agency to create new guidelines for EHR usability.

Finally, the plan lays out a strategy for reaching out to both patients and providers to explain the benefits of electronic health records and other forms of health IT.