Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the final 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (the Plan). The Plan outlines federal health information technology (health IT) goals and objectives, with a focus on individuals’ access to their electronic health information.

Responding to public health threats posed by the coronavirus pandemic, today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) released an interim final rule with comment period that extends the compliance dates and timeframes necessary to meet certain requirements related to information blocking and Conditions and Maintenance of Certification (CoC/MoC) requirements.

As the capability to sequence an individual’s genome or exome continues to expand—and the cost continues to fall—more states are considering how next generation sequencing (NGS) could support their newborn screening programs, which test approximately four million babies born in the United States each year for congenital, treatable diseases.

Health information technology can play an important role in helping to achieve the aims of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA prohibits discrimination and is intended to guarantee that people with disabilities have equal opportunities to fully participate in mainstream American life, including state and local programs and services. Missouri’s use of health IT is an example of one state’s approach to advance access to care through the use of technology.

The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is administering $2.5 million in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Acts (CARES Act) signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020. The funding will support local health information exchanges (HIEs) under the Strengthening the Technical Advancement and Readiness of Public Health Agencies via Health Information Exchange (STAR HIE) Program.