What’s Happening at the ONC – 04-26-21

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Posted By: HHS/ONC/CMS Communications April 26, 2021

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is at the forefront of the administration’s health IT efforts and is a resource to the entire health system to support the adoption of health information technology and the promotion of nationwide health information exchange to improve health care. ONC is organizationally located within the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Here is what they are doing and reporting. Follow them @ONC_HealthIT. Sign up for their email updates.

Events

Health IT Advisory Committee
Thursday, 05/13/2021, 9:30 AM

News and Announcements

ICYMI: Annual Meeting Recap
Missed the the 2021 ONC Annual Meeting? Don’t worry – visit the ONC Health IT Buzz Blog to read the key takeaways from this year’s meeting. Over the two-day virtual conference, 3,000 health IT partners joined together for a combination of plenaries, breakout sessions, and technology demos covering a variety of policy, public health, and tech topics. Sign in or register to view the recordings from the 2021 ONC Annual Meeting sessions you might have missed or wish to revisit. Watch the Meeting.

New Fact Sheets Provide Primer on FHIR® API
Four new fact sheets are now available to help demystify the FHIR® API. These fact sheets, created by ONC and Health Level Seven International (HL7)®, explain the key technical concepts that make up the foundation of the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) standard – how it is developed in an open and public process, and why it has become the focus of the health IT standards world. The fact sheets are available as PDF files on the ONC FHIR® webpage. View the Fact Sheets.

Revised Information Blocking FAQ Now Available
ONC has made a technical correction to one previously published FAQ relevant to HIPAA Business Associate Agreements (BAAs). ONC will continue to make resources available to educate and improve stakeholders’ understanding of the information blocking regulations. The applicability for information blocking began on April 5, 2021. Review the FAQs.

ONC Releases Updates to Health IT Playbook
The Certified Health IT section of ONC’s Health IT Playbook has been updated to reflect requirements outlined in the ONC Cures Act Final Rule and impacts to the ONC Health IT Certification Program. The Playbook is designed to help clinical practices reduce the burden of using health IT and make the most of their investment. A few of the key updates to the Certified Health IT section address Information Blocking, USCDI, and new information in the Certified Health IT Complaint section. View the Updated Playbook. View the ONC Cures Act Final Rule.

HITAC Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020
The Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) has transmitted the HITAC Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020 to the HHS Secretary and Congress. Required by the 21st Century Cures Act, this third edition of the HITAC annual report describes the HITAC’s progress during fiscal year 2020. The annual report also describes the health IT and health care industries’ progress in advancing the health IT infrastructure in several target areas: use of technologies that support public health, interoperability, privacy and security, and patient access to information. Read the Report.

Recording Available: Learn more about the Draft USCDI v2 and SVAP
The recording and presentation slides from the March 18 ONC Draft USCDI v2 and SVAP informational webinar are now available. Speakers discussed ONC’s Draft United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) Version 2, the Standards Versions Advancement Process (SVAP) flexibility for ONC-Certified Health IT, and commonly asked questions related to these topics. Watch the Recording.

Now Available for ONC Certification: SVAP Approved Versions for 2020
The Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) Approved Versions for 2020 are now available in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. The SVAP allows health IT developers the flexibility to voluntarily update their certified health IT to include newer versions of adopted standards used in the Program. Learn More About the SVAP.

LEAP in Health IT SEN
ONC published a special emphasis notice (SEN) under the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health IT notice of funding opportunity. The goal of this notice is to advance health IT standards and tools to improve the electronic exchange of social determinants of health data. Watch the recorded presentation from the information session webinar held on 3/9 to learn more. Read More About LEAP in Health IT. Watch the Leap in Health IT SEN Webinar.

ONC Health IT Certification Program New Resource Available
The ONC Health IT Certification Program has released a new fact sheet for Real World Testing requirements of the ONC Cures Act Final Rule. The fact sheet describes Real World Testing requirements for Health IT Developers participating in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. This resource will assist the Health IT Developer community in understanding how the requirements outlined in the ONC 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule apply to them and provide a practical overview of the Real World Testing Condition and Maintenance of Certification requirements. View the Fact Sheet.

Careers at ONC

Join them for upcoming HHS Career and Internship Fairs

  • Pathways to Public Service:
    Navigating Federal Employment
    Date: April 27, 2021
    Time: 1:00pm ET
    Register
  • Pathways to Public Service:
    HHS Federal Career & Internship Fair
    Date: April 28, 2021
    Time: 1:30pm ET
    Register

Resources

Health Records

New Pediatric Resource Available
ONC recently released the Pediatric Health Information Technology: Pediatric Healthcare Provider Informational Resource (Healthcare Provider IR) to support the implementation of health IT products used by clinicians that provide healthcare for children. The Developer and Healthcare Provider IRs identify ONC’s ten recommendations for health IT for pediatric care, relevant certification criteria within the ONC Health IT Certification Program, and other information to support the implementation of health IT products to support the safe and effective healthcare of children. Learn more.

Updates to the SRA Tool
ONC, in partnership with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently released an update to the HHS Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool. This tool provides support for small- and medium-sized health care organizations in their efforts to assess security risks. This enhanced version of the SRA Tool includes a variety of new features like improved navigation throughout the assessment sections, export options for reports, and enhanced user interface scaling. Download SRA Tool.

New Resources to Address the Privacy and Security of Health Data Used in Research
ONC has released the final report of the Privacy and Security Framework for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) project. The report highlights a framework and resources that support the responsible use of health data for PCOR. Learn more about how these resources can support stakeholders as they navigate the complexities of sharing health data for research and better protect patient data in the final report. Read the Final Report.

ONC’s Cures Act Final Rule Webinars & Resources
As of June 30, 2020, ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule is effective. Please visit 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program, for detailed information about the rule. ONC recently completed a series of question-and-answer webinars on ONC’s Cures Act Final Rule. All webinars were recorded. Visit the Cures Rule website to view all the webinar recordings, slide presentations, and resources about the Final Rule.

Tools and Resources for the Health IT Community
To support HHS’s ongoing response efforts to the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), ONC is partnering with the CDC to direct the health IT community and healthcare providers to various resources for reporting and tracking of coronavirus disease or COVID-19. Visit HealthIT.gov for more.

Read

From the Health IT Buzz Blog – Learn more about HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Check out the latest blog posts:

Spotlighting Interoperability Proving Ground Programs

The Interoperability Proving Ground (IPG) is an open, community platform where you can share, learn, and be inspired by interoperability projects taking place across the nation. ONC is asking those working on COVID-19 interoperability projects to share your project on the IPG and tag it with #COVID-19. We’re reviewing every entry to identify opportunities for connection and collaboration among the community on these critical efforts.

The Interoperability Proving Ground (IPG) Spotlight project of the week is: A HIPAA Compliant, Interdisciplinary Collaboration Tool for Front-Line Clinicians: TrekIT – Created by clinicians for clinicians at Penn Medicine, TrekIT is a HIPAA compliant clinical workflow tool that was built to enable seamless team-based collaboration across every provider in every setting and requires no IT resources to deploy. To support the medical community during this time of extreme strain, we are offering TrekIT free of charge to our colleagues on the front-lines.

Learn how your interoperability project can be featured as an IPG Spotlight by visiting the Interoperability Proving Ground (IPG). Once a project is submitted or updated, projects will automatically be added to the feature queue to be randomly selected as a featured project.

ONC Interoperability Pledge

Companies that provide 90 percent of electronic health records used by hospitals nationwide as well as the top five largest health care systems in the country have agreed to implement three core commitments: Consumer Access, No Blocking/Ensuring Transparency, and Standards. The ONC (@ONC_HealthIT) wants vendors to sign a pledge. Is your vendor pledging? Find out who is on the list.