What’s Happening at the ONC – 3-15-19

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Posted By: Roberta Mullin March 15, 2019

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.

News

NOW OPEN FOR COMMENT: ONC Proposed Rule
ONC’s proposed rule is now open for public comment. The proposed rule seeks to support seamless and secure access, exchange, and use of electronic health information. We value all of your feedback as it helps inform the rulemaking process. Comments are due May 3, 2019. Comment on the Proposed Rule

ONC Proposed Rule Informational Webinars
ONC will hold informational webinars throughout March to provide further details and answer general questions on its proposed rule.

Information Blocking in the NPRM: March 19 at 2 pm ET – Register
ONC 21st Century Cures Act NPRM Overview and Q&A: March 28 at 2 pm ET – Register

New Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health IT Funding Available
ONC published a special emphasis notice under the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health IT funding opportunity (NAP-AX-18-003) to address standardization of patient information for seamless access, exchange, and use. In fiscal year 2019, ONC is interested in applications whose specific aims address one of the following areas:

  • Standardization and Implementation of Scalable Health Level 7 International’s (HL7®) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) Consent Resource
  • Design, Develop, and Demonstrate Enhanced Patient Engagement Technologies for Care and Research

For more information visit LEAP in Health IT.

Security Risk Assessment Tool Update
An updated version of the Security Risk Assessment (SRA) tool is available that includes bug fixes, enhancements, and a security patch. We encourage those running the previous version to upgrade as soon as possible.

New Health IT Advisory Committee Task Forces
The Health IT Advisory Committee (HITAC) launched four task forces to review and provide recommendations on ONC’s proposed rule. The task forces include: Information Blocking, Conditions and Maintenance of Certification Requirements, Health IT for the Care Continuum and U.S. Core Data for Interoperability. The task forces are expected to conduct reviews and provide recommendations over the next two months. Follow the Task Forces

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:

Events

Health IT Advisory Committee Upcoming Meetings
The next Health IT Advisory Committee meeting will be held March 19, 2019.

Interoperability Standards Priorities Task Force Meeting
The next Interoperability Standards Priorities Task Force Meeting will be held Tuesday, April 23, 2019.

Save the Date – Interoperability Forum #3
Join ONC this August for a two-day Interoperability Forum that brings together federal partners, the healthcare industry, and the technology sector. Attendees will learn about recent efforts to advance interoperability nationwide and identify concrete actions that can be taken to respond to today’s interoperability challenges from a mix of keynote speakers, demos, and dedicated tracks.

Date & Time: August 21-22, 2019 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm ET
Location: Renaissance Hotel, 999 Ninth Street NW, Washington DC 20001

Registration information will be sent out in the near future and a webcast option will be available for plenary sessions.

2018 ONC Annual Meeting Presentations are Online Now
Slide presentations from the breakout sessions at the 2018 ONC Annual Meeting are available online. To download the presentations, navigate to the session in the agenda and look for the “Download Slides” link. Additionally, you can view recordings of the mainstage sessions.

Spotlighting Interoperability Proving Ground Programs

The Interoperability Proving Ground (IPG) Spotlight project of the week is Dynamic FHIR API – The Dynamic FHIR API allows health IT applications to make read-only data requests for patient health information. The API request process encompasses all data elements in ONC’s Common Clinical Data Set and meets §170.315(g)(7), §170.315(g)(8) and §170.315(g)(9) measures under 2015 Edition ONC Certification. The API allows requests for “all” patient data, irrespective of dates/category, and also “by specific data category,” for specified date range and/or data section.

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.