Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT)

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) is a division of the Office of the Secretary under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is devoted to the implementation of health information technology and facilitating the exchange of electronic health information. The use of electronic health records (EMR) was enacted through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and ONCHIT supports IT health requirements for the nationwide shift from paper to electronic medical records. ONCHIT is also charged with the promotion, assistance and governance of the health information exchange (HIE) process as it pertains to protected health information.