1. ONC Population Health Software Development and Branches
High Level Summary
Seong K. Mun, PhD
Peter Li
OSEHRA

2. Population Health Major Branches
Frozen by ONC OSEHRA Transition
Sep 2014
Version 3 May 2014
Merge NW code
Version 2.1
Feb 2013
MITRE Trunk
OSEHRA
(Initial Fork)
Rebased Jan 2014
May 2013
Nmedw branch
Jul 2014
(Mark Yoon)
Northwestern
(2014 MU2 Certified)
EH measures
MU Certification
Dec 2013
EP measures
MU Certification
Mar 2014
Aug 2013
eHCT v2 branch
Aug 2014
(Sabbir Siddiqui)
eHealthConnecticut
(V2)

3. popHealth Software Versions
Version 2 – eHealthConnecticut (eHCT)
- Use case for the States.
- Feature extensions including import data from multiple organizations, view aggregate measure calculations across multiple organizations, role-based access, etc.
- Active users include State of Connecticut and Illinois.
Northwestern University
- Technology step up from V2 – transitioning to Ruby/Rails Version 4
MU certified
- Focus on measure reporting for a single organization
Version 3
- Frozen master branch transitioned to OSEHRA.
- Newer technology stack - Ruby/Rails Version 4 with built-in RESTful API
- Faster/smoother user interface based on Thorax Javascript framework
- Enhanced functionality for reporting measures by provider/organization.
- Improved support for Hospital measures
12/5/2018

4. Version 2 (eHCT) Pros Cons
Features implemented based on State use cases
Working version supporting multiple organizations
Active users include state of Connecticut and Illinois
Cons
Older version of Rails, support not available
Server/UI lag for large amounts of data
Code changes also include Health Data Standards and Quality Measure Engine repositories, needs OSEHRA inclusion.
12/5/2018

5. Northwestern University
Pros
2014 MU Certified
Newer version of Rails
Faster user interface than Version 2
Cons
Needs significant development work to include features for State use cases
Needs development work for bug fixes
Limited provider functionality
12/5/2018

6. Version 3 (MITRE) Cons Pros
Needs significant development work to include features for State use cases
Needs development work for bug fixes
Loading providers with OPML configuration file required – technical change in workflow
OPML has to be produced for every patient load
Pros
Includes Northwestern’s enhancements, and further development
Faster user interface than Version 2
Provider configuration files (OPML) allows grouping of providers into different organizations
12/5/2018

7. Certification
Any change in the code, product name, version, or company name needs to be reported to the Certification Lab
Lab decides if there is need for re-certification
ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies
Drummond GroupWeb Site Disclaimers
ICSA LabsWeb Site Disclaimers
InfoGard Laboratories, Inc.
Northwestern used CCHIT as their certification lab, but CCHIT is no longer doing ONC certifications.
12/5/2018

8. Open Questions
Northwestern’s participation in the Open Source community?
Who will go through process of verifying certification with an ONC-ACB?
Who will provide funding for certification?
Is certification a requirement?
Funding for needed development?
12/5/2018