Portrait of Chelsea Richwine , ,

How Digitization of Patient Access Empowered Patients

Chelsea Richwine | July 2, 2025

In 2024, more patients than ever before accessed their medical records online through web browsers and apps to manage their health – here’s why that matters.
Last year we put out a series of blog posts featuring measures and metrics we’ve tracked for ten or more years to assess progress on important ASTP/ONC mission activities. This year, we’re kicking off a new blog series titled, “Digital Dividends” which will discuss important innovations and opportunities in health care delivery,

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Portrait of Shawn Spurlock ,

Advancements in Health IT: ASTP/ONC’s Approved SVAP Standards for 2025

Shawn Spurlock | June 30, 2025

As part of ASTP/ONC’s annual Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP), the Approved Standards for 2025 are now available. SVAP is designed to support industry interoperability needs and enable the use of newer standards in the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program). Beginning August 29, 2025, Health IT developers participating in the Certification Program can voluntarily incorporate the 2025 SVAP standards into their Certified Health IT Modules.

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Portrait of Micky Tripathi

Passing the Baton

Micky Tripathi | January 19, 2025

At 12:00 noon on January 20, 2021, I became the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). At 12:00 noon on January 20, 2025, I will leave my role as the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of HHS. My 4 years in this job – leading a phenomenally talented and dedicated ASTP team, advancing HHS’s technology strategy and policies to keep pace with the modern age,

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Portrait of Micky Tripathi ,

Advancing Cancer Care through FHIR-Based Reporting: Updates from USCDI+ Cancer

Micky Tripathi | January 8, 2025

Recognizing the importance of seamless data exchange in oncology, six health IT vendors have committed to supporting USCDI+ Cancer data elements (two more organizations pledged to promote cancer-related activities in their work), marking a significant step toward a more interoperable and standardized healthcare system. The White House announced these activities in March, 2024 to improve cancer care through enhanced utilization of EHR data, highlighting ASTP’s efforts around the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI),

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Portrait of Wei Chang

National Survey Reveals New Insights on Health Information Organizations

Wei Chang | January 7, 2025

Health information exchange organizations (HIOs) are networks that enable the electronic exchange of health information across participating health care providers, public health agencies, payers, and other entities. They also have a unique, wide-angle lens on the state of interoperability nationwide. Since 2020, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) has partnered with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Civitas Networks for Health (Civitas) to survey HIOs. We recently published a number of studies from the most recent survey,

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