Health IT Buzz

What We Heard: Health Interoperability Outcomes 2030

By Steven Posnack – What should 2030 look like because of interoperability? That’s what we asked our stakeholders back in May 2021. And boy, did you all deliver! We received an overwhelming number of submissions, north of 700 one-liners, from Twitter and HealthIT.gov. We even got video submissions from leaders in the field – thank you again!

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Enhancing Person-Centered Care Through Inclusive Standards Development

By Steven Posnack – In a field like health care where precision can mean saving a life, one irony I often reflect on is how unclear we’ve been about “sex” and “gender.” Among many anecdotes, this includes at times putting the prefix “administrative” in front of each to inexplicably constrain the meaning in ways that are rarely universally understood.



Thinking Outside the Box: The USCDI+ Initiative

By Ryan Argentieri, Elisabeth Myers, Steven Posnack & Micky Tripathi – Astute readers of the Health IT Buzz Blog (are there any other kind?) and those familiar with ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule will recall that we’ve talked a lot about the United States Core Data for Interoperability.


Take the PULSE of Your Community

By Rachel Abbey – Seven years ago the ONC began work on the Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies. PULSE is an effort to create national resilience by improving first responder access to patient electronic health information they need to provide services and ensure public health during disasters.


Research Results Published: More Apps are Integrating with EHRs

By Wes Barker & Christian Johnson – New ONC research shows a more than 20% rise in the number of apps that integrate with certified EHRs. A manuscript highlighting the findings of this research was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: “The Ecosystem of Apps and Software integrated with Certified Health Information Technology”.


The Marriage of Technology and Policy

By Yuriy Pylypchuk & Carmen Smiley – When a family member, friend, or loved one develops an opioid addiction, few people know how to respond. Similarly, it is often difficult for healthcare providers to know how to best prevent, detect, and treat opioid use disorder, and almost every provider in the country has had encounters with patients experiencing addiction.


Moving Ahead on Information Sharing

By Micky Tripathi – The ONC Cures Act Final Rule went into effect on April 5, 2021 and as a result we have seen an increase in both the quantity and complexity of questions regarding the regulations. We’re eager to help the industry successfully implement these new requirements and, even more important…


Using Standards to Focus on Transitions of Care

By Brett Andriesen & Holly Miller – Transitions of care (e.g. from a nursing home to an emergency department) are often difficult, but are even more dangerous for the patient and healthcare providers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. ONC is working with private-sector innovators to find unique and rapid ways to help move patients from the hospital to the nursing home, or vice versa.