2023 Posts

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Increasing the Transparency and Trustworthiness of AI in Health Care

Kathryn Marchesini | April 13, 2023

This is part five of a blog series on predictive models, artificial intelligence (AI) & machine learning (ML) in health. We encourage readers to (re)visit the four previous blog posts for important context to what follows.
Through a series of blog posts over the last year, we’ve described our understanding of the current and potential uses of predictive models and machine learning algorithms in health care, and the role that ONC can play in shaping their development and use.

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Information Blocking Regulations Work in Concert with HIPAA Rules and Other Privacy Laws to Support Health Information Privacy

Rachel Nelson | April 12, 2023

We often get asked about how ONC’s information blocking regulations and HHS’ Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules (HIPAA Rules) interact with one another. To help clarify, ONC just released a few new information blocking frequently asked questions (FAQs) that illustrate how the federal regulations interact. This post also reviews how the information blocking regulations interact with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and other laws that impose specific restrictions on information sharing to protect the privacy of an individual’s health information.

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ONC’s New Proposed Rule: The Next Step to Advancing the Care Continuum Through Technology and Interoperability

Elise Sweeney Anthony | April 11, 2023

Today, ONC released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled, “Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing” (we will colloquially refer to future rules using the shorthand “HTI” and we refer to this rule as HTI-1). The HTI-1 proposed rule, released about three years after the ONC Cures Act Final Rule, builds on the monumental progress that has been made to support patients and providers across the care continuum.

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Physicians have Widespread Access to State PDMP Data, but Data Sharing Varies Across States

Chelsea Richwine | April 6, 2023

A recent ONC blog post showed physicians have widespread access to data from their state’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). According to a 2021 national survey of office-based physicians, more than three-quarters of physician prescribers reported checking the PDMP prior to prescribing controlled substances to a patient for the first time. Prescriber use laws and ongoing efforts to integrate electronic health record (EHR) systems with state PDMPs likely contributed to high levels of PDMP use among physicians.

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Health IT Standards – The “Secret Sauce” that Brings Electronic Health Information to the Patient and their Care Team

Matthew Rahn | April 3, 2023

Matt is the deputy director for the standards division in the office of technology at ONC. The standards division is responsible for providing technical subject matter expertise to ONC and health IT partners to encourage the adoption and use of health IT standards.

Tell us about some of the projects or initiatives that you lead.

It is important for providers and patients to have access and share health data because it allows for improved health care outcomes.

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