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.
The proposals span the health information technology (health IT) horizon, including proposals on the movement of health information electronically, on new data standards that help ensure that information can be understood when it enters and leaves a system, on electronic case reporting that supports public health and emergency response across the country, and on algorithm transparency so that health IT users have more information about the algorithms enabled by or interfacing with the certified technology they use for care. A few more of the provisions you will find in the proposed rule are:
- Implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act requirement to establish an Electronic Health Record (EHR) Reporting Program condition and maintenance of certification as part of the ONC Health IT Certification Program
- Updates to ONC’s information blocking regulations, including a proposal to add a Trusted Exchange Framework & Common Agreement (TEFCA) condition to the revised and renamed Manner exception
- Application programming interface provisions that further support the secure movement of information between health IT systems
- New and revised standards and certification criteria, including The United States Core Data for Interoperability Standard Version 3 (USCDI v3)
In the coming weeks, we will host several information sessions on the HTI-1 proposed rule. Check out our website where you can register for upcoming sessions and where you will find fact sheets and other resources on the new proposed rule.
One more thing! Don’t forget to tell us what you think about the proposed rule. The comment period will open next week on April 18. Please submit comments by 11:59 pm ET on June 20, 2023.