What’s Happening at the ONC

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Posted By: HHS/ONC/CMS Communications August 7, 2023

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is at the forefront of the administration’s health IT efforts and is a resource to the entire health system to support the adoption of health information technology and the promotion of nationwide health information exchange to improve health care. ONC is organizationally located within the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Here is what they are doing and reporting. Follow them @ONC_HealthIT. Sign up for their email updates.

News & Announcements

New Dataset: Certified Health Information Technology Reported by Clinicians for Promoting Interoperability Performance
Check out HealthIT.gov/data for new data on certified technology use for clinicians reporting for Promoting Interoperability in 2019, 2020, and 2021. This new data represents an update to data published through 2016 of the certified technology reported by eligible professionals for Meaningful Use participation. The data can be linked to the ONC Certified Health IT Product List and other HHS and industry healthcare datasets. View the data.

Events

ONC Tech Forum: Data Quality Symposium

When: Thursday, September 7, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 5:00 pm ET
Register for this event.

High data quality is essential to every aspect of healthcare, research and epidemiology, public health reporting, and realizing the potential of health IT, and is a key ingredient to data aggregation, linkage and interoperability. It is accessible, usable, and actionable, whereas low data quality, such as duplicate patient records or obsolete information creates barriers to care delivery, research insights, and leads to higher costs and inefficiencies.

This symposium will review actionable data quality standards, assessment frameworks, metrics, and real-life challenges and success stories. Symposium attendees will gain knowledge and access to best practices and available solutions that they may apply in their everyday work.

New in 2023 – The ONC Tech Forum is back in 2023, although with a slightly different look. Instead of a single event, ONC will now host Tech Forum workshops throughout the year, giving you multiple opportunities to learn about how we can advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability.

ONC Tech Forum: Clinical Decision Support Series

Multiple Dates

In this new series, come learn about clinical decision support (CDS) from the ONC team and real-world implementers. They will kick things off with a session looking at the future of CDS and how it can be used on the ground. Future sessions will explore incorporating guidelines into CDS and understanding the value in using CDS.

New in 2023 – The ONC Tech Forum is back in 2023, although with a slightly different look. Instead of a single event, ONC will now host Tech Forum workshops throughout the year, giving you multiple opportunities to learn about how we can advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability.

Registration for the September 27th session is open!

ONC Virtual Event – Enabling Patient Access to Health Data for Actionable Results

When: Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 4:30 pm ET
Register for this event.

Recent Department of Health and Human Services policy is bringing patients unprecedented access to their health information. Join the ONC and CMS in October for a virtual event focused on patient access to health data. The day will bring together patients, providers, payers, and health IT developers to discuss how HHS policies are working in practice and how to maximize the impact of these policies. The event will also highlight educational tools and resources, such as patient-facing apps that enable the availability of patient information and make that health information easier to understand.

Registration Coming Soon for the ONC Annual Meeting

The ONC Annual Meeting is back in-person in Washington, DC for the first time since 2020! Join ONC December 14 -15, 2023 for two days of conversation, learning, and networking. Come hear about the key issues at the intersection of health care, public health, policymaking, and technology through a variety of keynote speakers and mainstage, breakout, and education sessions.

Registration and hotel room block opens August 8th!

Resources

21st Century Cures Act Summary

The 21st Century Cures Act, signed December 13, 2016, by President Obama, promotes and funds the acceleration of research into preventing and curing serious illnesses; accelerates drug and medical device development; attempts to address the opioid abuse crisis; and tries to improve mental health service delivery. The Act includes a number of provisions that push for greater interoperability, adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and support for human services programs.

Certification of Health IT

The ONC Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program) ensures that Certified Health Information Technology meets the technological capability, functionality, and security requirements adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI)

The United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) is a standardized set of health data classes and constituent data elements for nationwide, interoperable health information exchange. Review the USCDI Fact Sheet to learn more.

TEFCA

The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) establishes a universal policy and technical floor for nationwide interoperability; simplifies connectivity for organizations to securely exchange information to improve patient care, enhance the welfare of populations, and generate health care value; and enables individuals to gather their healthcare information. The Common Agreement establishes the infrastructure model and the governing approach for users in different networks to securely share basic clinical information under commonly agreed-to expectations and rules.

Read

From the Health IT Buzz Blog – Learn more about HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Check out the latest blog posts:

ONC Interoperability Pledge

Companies that provide 90 percent of electronic health records used by hospitals nationwide as well as the top five largest health care systems in the country have agreed to implement three core commitments: Consumer Access, No Blocking/Ensuring Transparency, and Standards. The ONC (@ONC_HealthIT) wants vendors to sign a pledge. Is your vendor pledging? Find out who is on the list.