During its first meeting on Friday, the Health IT Standards Committee announced it would form three work groups to develop health IT standards that support the practical daily work of physicians and hospitals.

Established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to advise the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the committee identified three areas of focus, which are clinical operations, clinical quality, and privacy and security.

Although another advisory ONC panel, the Health IT Policy Committee, suggested that the standards panel begin determining standards related to “meaningful use,” the ONC has yet to define the term.

The timeline calls for the work groups to report on standards in the three focus areas in July, and by mid-August, the groups must address standards that are required, ones that must be harmonized and gaps needing further resolution.