Electronic health record (EHR) systems store incredibly rich data about individual patients, but historically, individuals have been unable to access this information easily and share it for research. However, use of patients’ data could accelerate scientific discovery and progress toward precision medicine. Permitting patients to connect and share their data with researchers—while maintaining the security and privacy of those data—is just one of the many benefits to the research community of the ONC‘s Cures Act Final Rule released in March 2020.

This year, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released three strategic documents that will help set a path forward for health IT. The 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, the Strategy on Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs, and the National Health IT Priorities for Research: A Policy and Development Agenda are united in the aim to improve health, healthcare, and research through the innovative use of technology.

Genomic data—information about the complete set of genes that make up each individual—have the potential to revolutionize healthcare and usher in a new era of precision medicine and scientific discovery. However, there is currently no standard way of presenting genomic data, and the standards for integrating those data with electronic health record (EHR) and other health information technology (IT) systems remain under development.

In light of COVID-19, ONC will exercise its discretion in enforcing all new requirements that have compliance dates and timeframes until three months after each initial compliance date or timeline identified in the ONC Cures Act Final Rule. 

Now that the dust has settled ever so slightly on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) Cures Act Final Rule, we wanted to dive a little deeper into the Conditions and Maintenance of Certification provisions.