By Wendy Noboa and Seth Pazinski, ONC
LinkedIn: Wendy Noboa
LinkedIn: Seth Pazinski
X: @ONC_HealthIT
The Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) plays an important role in informing ONC policies and programs, consisting of experts across the health care industry offering a wide range of health IT perspectives. The HITAC recommends policies, standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria to the national coordinator across five target areas: interoperability, privacy and security, patient access to information, use of technologies that support public health, and design and use of technologies that advance health equity.
The HITAC had a Productive 2023!
In total, the HITAC held nine full committee meetings, launched four subcommittees that held 58 subcommittee meetings, and issued 136 recommendations. These include recommendations for assessing the HTI-1 Proposed Rule, as well as recommendations from the Pharmacy Interoperability and Emerging Therapeutics Task Force. We also want to thank the 11 long-standing members who finished their terms on the HITAC in 2023.
Check out this HITAC infographic for more details.
What’s New for the HITAC in 2024
The HITAC will be busy again in 2024! So far, we’ve welcomed nine new members.
- Michael F. Chiang
- Derek De Young
- Lee Fleisher
- Katrina Miller Parrish
- Randa Perkins
- Rochelle Prosser
- Dan Riskin
- Mark Sendak
- Zeynep Sumer-King
In addition, Sarah DeSilvey will serve as HITAC co-chair alongside Medell Briggs-Malonson in 2024.
And, we have several HITAC subcommittees anticipated for this year:
- The Interoperability Standards Workgroup will evaluate and provide recommendations on the Draft USCDI Version 5.
- Pending publication, the HITAC is expected to review and provide recommendations on the ONC proposed rule, titled “Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability” or “HTI-2.”
We are thankful to have an esteemed group of passionate members who volunteer their time and efforts to help advance the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information.
How Can You Get Involved?
Glad you asked! HITAC meetings are open to the public, and we encourage interested parties to participate during the public comment portion of each meeting. View all committee meetings, learn about current and past Task Forces, and review past recommendations on HealthIT.gov.
This article was originally published on the Health IT Buzz and is syndicated here with permission.