2024 ASTP Annual Meeting

Session

Keynote and Morning Plenary: TEFCA – Year One in the Books and Looking to the Future

Welcome

• Lisa Lewis Person

Remarks: The Federal Government is Committed to TEFCA

• Shereef Elnahal, MD, MBA
• Jennifer Layden
• Mitchell Thornbrugh

Panel: Federal Agency Take: Leveraging TEFCA Today and for Years to Come

• Jim Jirjis, MD, MBA, FACP
• Dr. Jonathan Nebeker
• Belinda Seto
• Elise Sweeney Anthony

Panel: Industry Perspectives on TEFCA: Policy and Implementation

• Matthew Eisenberg
• Michelle Meigs
• Cait Riccobono
• Michael Westover
• Mariann Yeager

Lunch

Breakout Sessions 1

Advancing the Science and Practice of Local AI Evaluation

Testing AI systems where they will be or are being used can provide unique evidence that the systems will benefit patients and professionals, and ASTP's HTI-1 provisions support local validation. However, best practices to evaluate and monitor AI in local settings are continuing to evolve. Panelists will discuss emerging tools and practices to effectively evaluate whether AI is fair, appropriate, valid, effective and safe for the specific patients and organizations it is intended to help, and ways to ensure that diverse components of the healthcare delivery system have the capability to evaluate AI.

• Dr. Peter Embi, MD, MS
• Corey Miller
• Dr. Sara Murray
• Jordan Everson

Leveraging Technology to Address the Impact of Social and Environmental Drivers of Health

Standardized data on environmental factors, a critical social driver of health, is not routinely collected, used, or exchanged in healthcare. This data is critical for empowering individuals, providers, and communities working to help change environments that may shape or constrain health behaviors and outcomes and to overall address health inequities and inform care treatment. In this session, thought leaders will engage in an open panel discussion to explore standards development opportunities and health IT uses for this data while sharing insights on sustainability information and environmental risk and exposure data uses.

• Dr. Gniesha Y. Dinwiddie, PhD
• Jessica Hinshaw
• Aubrey Miller
• Dr. Titus Schleyer
• Michael Wittie

Nursing Leadership at ASTP: Insights and Open Dialogue with the Chief Nursing Officer

Join us for an insightful and interactive listening session at the ASTP Annual Meeting, led by the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). This session will delve into the critical contributions of the CNO in shaping and advancing ASTP’s mission. The CNO will provide an in-depth look at how nursing leadership drives strategic initiatives, fosters innovation, and enhances patient-centered care. The session will also feature an open discussion segment, inviting participants to share their perspectives, ask questions, and engage in a meaningful dialogue about the challenges and opportunities in healthcare today. Your input is invaluable as we strive to meet the vision of better health enabled by data.

• Dr. Melinda Kidder, DHA, MSN, RN, CENP

Perspectives on Behavioral and Physical Health Care Data Integration to Improve Patient Care

Behavioral health, encompassing mental health and substance use disorders, is a critical component of overall health and well-being. Speakers will discuss ASTP’s work on the Behavioral Health IT Initiative, including the draft United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI)+ Behavioral Health dataset (also referred to as USCDI+BH), two clinical decision support tools following the CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, and how data collected by behavioral health and physical health providers can be exchanged to inform care.

• Llew Brown
• Lydia N. Drumright
• Vivian Horn
• Dr. Cara Litvin
• Dr. Bill Lober
• Wesley Sargent
• Lori Haberman
• Alison Kemp

The Road Ahead: Mapping the Federal Government’s Health IT Journey to Drive Systemic Improvements in Health and Care

The 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan is designed with an outcomes-focused approach, aiming to enhance the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information, foster health equity, and modernize public health infrastructure. The plan is divided into four goals: Goals 1 through 3 focus on improving the experiences and outcomes for various health IT users, while Goal 4 addresses the policies and technologies needed to support those users. This panel will examine how federal agencies align their missions to the plan to achieve a more advanced, equitable, and safer healthcare delivery system through the use of health IT.

• Stephanie Lee
• Heather Dimeris
• Jim Jirjis, MD, MBA, FACP
• Margaret (Meg) Marshall
• Goli Yamini
• Dustin Charles

Break

Afternoon Plenary: Collaboration, Harmonization, and Standardization: How USCDI+ is Raising the Floor for Interoperable Data Use

Through the USCDI+ initiative, ASTP collaborates with federal partners seeking to establish, harmonize, and advance the use of interoperable datasets that extend beyond the core data in the USCDI in order to meet agency-specific programmatic requirements. Since its launch in 2022, USCDI+ has begun to address some of the most pressing data harmonization and interoperability issues across facing the healthcare landscape. At this session, hear from federal agencies engaged in USCDI+ and how this model is helping to advance key HHS priorities at CMS, CDC, NIH, and HRSA.

• Joel Andress
• Braedyn Kromer
• Desiree Mustaquim
• Umit Topaloglu
• Matthew Rahn

Break

Breakout Sessions 2

A Decade of Data Examined: The Evolution of Health IT in the United States

This panel will explore ASTP's ongoing efforts to measure and enhance health information exchange over the years. As the culmination of the 'Decade of Data' blog series, the session will reflect on the progress and future of key areas including interoperability, patient access, public health reporting, and electronic prescribing.

• Wesley Barker
• Wei Chang
• Jordan Everson
• Catherine Strawley
• Yael Harris

Addressing Health Equity with the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects

This session will discuss the LEAP projects awarded in 2022 that are closing in 2024 and 2025. Speakers from AllianceChicago, MedStar Health Research Institute, and HealthLab will discuss a FHIR-enabled interoperable care plan pilot designed to integrate and coordinate services to better address social determinants of health (SDOH) and a demonstration project monitoring blood pressure and medication adherence using patient-generated health data (PGHD).

• Jeremy Carr
• Mike Gillam
• Kristen Miller
• Fred Rachman
• Shelly Sital
• Alison Kemp

Advancing Human Services Interoperability: Connecting Data for Whole-Person Care

This session will highlight the ASTP’s new role leading human service interoperability as announced in the HHS Data Strategy. Learn about previous and ongoing initiatives to improve standards and reduce the administrative burden of social service enrollment and hear updates on the current state of human service interoperability. Presenters will outline approaches to advancing this work with focus on real world improvements. This work, coordinated with other HHS agencies, will support efforts to enable whole-person care delivery by connecting human services data.

• Dr. Sarah DeSilvey
• Alana G. Kalinowski
• Tom Novak
• John Rancourt

Empowering Patients: Enhancing Patient Access and Navigation in Cancer Care

Earlier this year, the White House reaffirmed its commitment to patient access in cancer care as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, which has a goal of improving the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer. Ensuring patients and families have easy access to the information and tools they need to manage their health and care is critical to facilitating navigation of a recent cancer diagnosis, cancer survivorship, or end of life care. In this session, you will hear from researchers, patient advocates, and members of CancerX—a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership aimed at developing innovative approaches to reduce the burden of cancer—to showcase the latest research on patient-reported experiences and preferences related to access and use of their electronic health information. Speakers will also share their own lived experiences navigating cancer care and discuss ongoing efforts to improve patient access and simplify patient navigation, which is critical to empowering patients and caregivers to make informed decisions about their health and care.

• Grace Cordovano
• Rochelle Prosser
• Dr. Chelsea Richwine
• Bryan Steitz
• Stephen Konya

PHIT 4 Duty: Year Four Updates
This session will feature a panel presentation highlighting students who have completed training and internships through the Public Health Informatics and Technology (PHIT) Workforce Development Program. It will also include a discussion of formative evaluation results of the program to date.

• Adetayo Atitebi, Jr
• Melissa Baez
• Jahden Egana
• Dr. Meghan Gabriel
• Nicole Ha
• Samy Haidar
• Connie Lee
• Hassan Rabbani

Session

Morning Plenaries

Keynote

• Micky Tripathi

What in the GPT? Does generative AI Have a Place in Health Care Delivery?

What in the GPT? Does generative AI have a place in health care delivery? AI-based technologies have the potential to accelerate innovation, increase market competition, ameliorate health inequities, reduce clinician burn-out, and improve care and the care experience for patients. In recent years, the emergence of generative AI has accelerated interest in this technology due to its ease of access and range of applications. Join health and technology leaders and they discuss how generative AI is impacting healthcare and how we can separate hype from reality.

• Brian Anderson
• Thomas Osborne
• Jennifer Stoll
• Tricia Lee Rolle

Meeting the Mission with AI: How Federal Partners are Using AI to Advance Health and Human Services

In this conversation with HHS and VA leadership, hear how federal partners are harnessing AI use cases to meet their unique missions – how it's going and what’s next for the application of AI in health and human services.

• Kevin Duvall
• Jennifer Layden
• Connie Leonard
• Steve Posnack
• Kaeli Yuen

Lunch

Breakout Sessions 3

Listening to YOU: Community Insights on Health Literacy and Equitable Healthcare

Join us for an engaging and informative listening session focused on the critical intersection of health literacy, health equity and patient access, with a special focus on the role of technology and artificial intelligence (AI). This event aims to gather insights from patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and community members to identify barriers and solutions that promote equitable healthcare for all individuals. The discussion will explore the importance of health literacy in navigating the healthcare system, managing health conditions, and making informed decisions. We will look at how varying levels of health literacy can impact patient outcomes and engagement. The information gathered from this listening session will also inform the update of the National Health Literacy Action Plan (NHLAP).

• Dr. Cynthia Baur
• Joshua Chigozie Ogbuefi
• Shamekka Marty
• Dr. Jennifer Bishop
• Lana Moriarty

Progress and Promise: Piecing Together the Future of Clinical Trials Infrastructure

In 2023, the White House launched the Clinical Trials Readiness Initiative with a focus on strengthening clinical trials infrastructure and optimizing clinical trial data capture. Through coordination with ASTP/ONC, FDA, NIH, and ARPA-H, and following the evaluation of public feedback received through 2 RFIs and numerous listening sessions, the White House announced several key initiatives set to take place over the course of 2024. Examples of this work include the HL7 Vulcan Interoperability Bridge project (ASTP/NCI/FDA), the Clinical Trials Use Case under the USCDI+ Cancer (ASTP/NCI/FDA), and the Accelerating Clinical Trials Readiness or “ACTR” initiative launched by ARPA-H. Join this session to learn more about the continued importance of this work, the progress made in 2024 towards realizing an ideal future state of clinical trials infrastructure, and how you can still get involved or support this work going forward.

• Paula Braun
• Sandy Vance
• Stephen Konya
• Amy Cramer
• Jose Galvez
• Kamal Menghrajani
• Dr. Shannon Silkensen

Quality In, Quality Out: Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Data Quality

Standards for sharing data as well as governance and accountability for data quality are needed. This session will include an overview of the current state of data quality in healthcare, and discuss promising approaches, challenges, and opportunities for government and industry efforts to improve data quality.

• Niall Brennan
• Keith Campbell
• Didi Davis
• Charlie Harp
• Ilana Yurkiewicz
• Ryan Howells

SAFER Guides: 2024 Update

In this ASTP Annual Meeting session, audience members will get a comprehensive overview of the 2024 release of the Safety Assurance For EHR Resilience (SAFER) Guides, the expanded process to update and revise them, and a look at new capabilities to incorporate the health IT safety recommendations of the Guides into software, websites, and interactive media. The SAFER Guides are an authoritative set of recommendations in the form of multiple, stand-alone, subject-oriented chapters to guide the EHR community with best practice recommendations to improve the safety and safe use of EHRs. The Guides were first released in 2014, and updated in 2017 and 2024.

• David Hunt

Tracking Impact: Family Medicine Physicians Experience with Interoperability

This session focuses on detailed information on family medicine physicians’ experience using interoperable health IT. This information provides a unique view into the current state of interoperability that can inform ASTP planning and policy, as well as a broader understanding of the industry. Federal partners will discuss how these results relate to their ongoing objectives, programs, and policies.

• Edwin Lomotan
• Alexandra Mugge
• Bob Phillips

Break

Breakout Sessions 4

Advancing HeaIth Equity by Design: Identifying and Addressing Disparities in Patient Access

Health equity by design focuses on the need to include health equity at the outset during the design and implementation of health IT policies, programs, and workflows. This session will focus on efforts to advance health equity by identifying and addressing disparities in patient access to electronic health information. The presentations in this session will showcase findings from recent studies aimed at identifying disparities in patient portal access and use; discuss best practices for promoting equitable access, effective communication, and language-responsiveness in patient portals; and highlight promising results from a health system approach to mitigating patient access disparities by ensuring all patients are offered access to their patient portal. Together, these presentations demonstrate how a health equity by design approach to patient access can help monitor existing gaps and identify opportunities to leverage digital tools to eliminate health disparities and advance health equity.

• Dr. Gerardo Lazaro
• Dr. Chelsea Richwine
• Dana Schinasi
• Rob Turer

Behind the Scenes at ASTP: How we Operate and Engage with YOU

Curious about the inner workings of ASTP’s Office of the Chief Operating Officer and how we engage with external partners? This breakout session offers an exclusive look behind the scenes at ASTP’s day-to-day operations. Join federal operations office senior leaders and division directors as they discuss the systems and processes that keep the office running smoothly. We’ll walk you through key areas such as grants and cooperative agreement processing, procurement, financial management, and legislative affairs. Whether you're an insider seeking a deeper understanding of operational mechanics or an external partner looking to enhance your engagement with us, this session is designed to equip you with valuable knowledge about the pivotal role we play in delivering outcomes. This session is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about ASTP’s operations and engagement strategies.

• Yvette Haynes
• Amy Meller
• Fatema Nasseh
• Nina Ooft
• Mikki Smith
• Chartese Torrence
• Seon Wilburg
• Lisa Lewis Person

Enhancing Laboratory Interoperability: Insights and a Path Forward

Congress requested the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) develop a report on laboratory data standards and propose possible solutions to further advance interoperability. This panel will cover insights from ASTP’s report, including the current state of laboratory standards adoption, driving factors of standards adoption, and a vision for the future.

• Ali Abbasi, MD
• Steve Posnack
• Dr. Abigail Viall
• Sara Armson

FAIR Data Principles - Sharing the Department's Journey

Join Chief Data Officers from HHS as they discuss their divisions’ journey towards implementing FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. In this session, you’ll gain insights into their journey from planning to implementation within their divisions to enhance the Department’s ability to find, access, and share data to better serve the public. Learn how their efforts are enabling the Department’s vision of whole person care delivery by connecting human services data. Engage directly with these data leaders who are shaping the future of health and human services data and driving innovation across the data landscape.

• Dr. Shu Hui Chen
• Susan Jenkins
• Jennifer Layden
• Allison Oelschlaeger
• Susy Postal
• Dr. Mahnaz Dean

Person-Centered Care Planning and Social Care Referrals: FHIR Real World Implementation, Policy, and Technical Resources

The interoperable exchange of health and social determinants of health (SDOH) data across healthcare, social services, and other settings is critical to advancing whole-person care. This session will showcase states who are implementing real world application of FHIR standards (e.g., SDOH Clinical Care for Multiple Domains Implementation Guide (IG), Electronic Long-Term Services and Supports IG). Presenters will share available resources to support patient-centered planning, improving outcomes, quality reporting, and advancing health equity.

• Brenda Akinnagbe
• Lindsey Ferris, DrPH
• Meley Gebresellassie
• Dr. Jim Shalaby
• Toi Wilde