Portrait of Alex Baker , ,

13 Areas to Improve Electronic Prior Authorization

Alex Baker | May 31, 2022

In January 2022, ONC issued a Request for Information (RFI) that sought public input on the ONC Health IT Certification Program and how it could incorporate standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria related to electronic prior authorization. Shortly thereafter, ONC charged the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) with providing input and recommendations in response to this RFI. The Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA) RFI Task Force of the HITAC led consideration of the charge and developed a report and recommendations that were recently approved by the full HITAC.

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Portrait of Steven Posnack

Information Blocking and the President’s FY23 Budget for ONC

Steven Posnack | May 24, 2022

While the federal government’s budget planning processes may have a certain mystique to them, some interesting tidbits are always in federal agency budgets if you know where to look. Fear not, because this blog post highlights a new legislative proposal associated with information blocking that’s been put forward by the Biden-Harris Administration for HHS. Specifically, the Administration has requested that Congress provide HHS with the authority to issue binding “advisory opinions” for the information blocking regulations as part of our implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act).

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Portrait of Elise Sweeney Anthony ,

Marching Forward: The Path to Operationalize TEFCA

Elise Sweeney Anthony | May 16, 2022

On January 18, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the TEFCA Recognized Coordinating Entity® (RCETM), The Sequoia Project, released the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common AgreementSM (TEFCASM). The next key step for TEFCA is the release of resources to advance its operationalization, such as standard operating procedures (SOPs). These SOPs will include specific policies and procedures to further guide QHINs and will identify, where applicable, necessary technical implementation requirements.

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Portrait of Asara Clark

Introducing Leidos as a new ONC-Authorized Testing Laboratory (ONC-ATL)

Asara Clark | May 11, 2022

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is pleased to announce that Leidos, Inc. (Leidos) has been granted status as an ONC-Authorized Testing Laboratory (ONC-ATL) in the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Program). Leidos now becomes one of four organizations to hold current ONC-ATL status alongside Drummond Group, ICSA Labs, and SLI Compliance.

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Portrait of Steven Posnack

ONC Turns 18

Steven Posnack | April 27, 2022

On April 27, 2004, President Bush signed Executive Order (EO) 13335 and created the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). Like tapping that first domino, this single action is a key moment in United States health IT history. Nearly two decades later, US policy and technology leadership in health IT is world-renowned.

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