The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Annual Meeting was held on December 4-5, 2024.  Stay tuned for the plenary recordings and slides from the breakout sessions to post in the coming weeks. 

Join ASTP for an overview of USCDI+ respiratory illness, providing you with the latest insights and an opportunity to share your feedback.  During the session, we will give an overview of USCDI+ Respiratory Illness and the acute respiratory distress (ARDS) draft data elements and their role in enhancing clinical trials, and leave time for your questions and comments.  Please come prepared to bring your questions and feedback to help us enhance ARDS clinical trials.We look forward to your valuable participation in shaping the future of data interoperability in respiratory illness research. If you have any questions, please contact us at USCDI.plus@hhs.gov. Presentation Slides [PDF - 2.1 MB] 

Join ASTP and the National Cancer Institute for a listening session on the USCDI+ Cancer Clinical Trials Matching (CTM) and immune-related Adverse Events (irAE) draft datasets.USCDI+ Cancer Clinical Trials Matching (CTM)The USCDI+ Cancer CTM dataset aims to establish a standardized set of data elements reported in a consistent format. By focusing on key screening data, this dataset will support generating a list of potential trials for which a patient may be eligible. This will streamline the matching process, making trial matching more equitable and accessible for all patients, and enabling patients, healthcare providers, and researchers to engage more effectively in cancer treatment decisions and care planning.USCDI+ Cancer immune-related Adverse Events (irAE)The immune-related Adverse Events (irAEs) use case within the USCDI+ Cancer initiative aims to significantly enhance the accuracy and reliability of detecting signals for immune-related adverse events using real-world data. This effort focuses on defining and refining standardized structured data elements that are crucial for identifying signals associated with common immune-related checkpoints for participants in clinical trials.

Got questions about information sharing under ASTP’s information blocking regulations? Join ASTP’s experts for our virtual office hours to ask us about the information blocking regulations.NEW DATE – This session has been rescheduled from October 3 to October 24.  If you had previously registered, your registration will automatically updated. 

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the upcoming quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements.Agenda:

§170.315(b)(11) Decision Support Interventions Certification Companion Guide

API Condition and Maintenance of Certification 

Presentation Slides [PDF - 1.5 MB]

Join ASTP to learn and ask questions about the 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan.Download slides [PDF - 5.7 MB]

ASTP/ONC is holding another installment of the Decision Support Interventions (DSI) Roadshow for Health IT Developers: Advancing your Understanding of ONC Health IT Certification Program Requirements for 45 CFR 170.315(b)(11). During this session, ASTP/ONC will review Certification Program requirements and guidance for health IT developers working to certify Health IT Modules to § 170.315(b)(11), enhancing your understanding of the certification process and requirements.Presentation Slides [PDF - 952 KB]

Join the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR) and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy for an overview of ASFR’s proposed rule, the HHS Acquisition Regulation: Acquisition of Information Technology; Standards for Health Information Technology.

Register for an introductory webinar on the free Security Risk Assessment Tool (SRA Tool) hosted by Altarum with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP). The webinar will also feature changes in SRA Tool version 3.5, available in September 2024.What is the Security Risk Assessment Tool (SRA Tool)? ASTP, in collaboration with OCR, offers a free, downloadable Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool to help guide small and medium-sized provider practices and organizations in their efforts to assess security risks. The tool is designed to help organizations conduct a security risk assessment as required by the HIPAA Security Rule.During this webinar, attendees will receive:

An introduction to security risk assessment

Instructions on how to download, install, and use the SRA Tool

An overview of changes in the new SRA Tool 3.5 Release

An opportunity for Q&A

Presenters will include:

Ryan Callahan, Altarum

Dawn Bishop, Altarum

Nick Heesters, OCR

 

ASTP and NCI invite you to participate in an upcoming listening session focused on the Cancer Registry use case and USCDI+ Cancer Registry data element list published on July 23rd. This session will provide an opportunity to discuss the importance and ease of collection of the data elements, the potential burden of sharing them electronically, and the impact on the future flow of data as we gather feedback from stakeholders like you.If you have any questions, please contact us at USCDI.Plus@hhs.gov.  

Join colleagues from the Vulcan HL7® FHIR® Accelerator, Food and Drug Administration, and ASTP/ONC for a kickoff informational webinar for the Vulcan Interoperability Bridge Event. This webinar is designed to share information on how we will convene clinical research sponsors, including pharmaceutical companies and academic medical centers, EHR providers, clinical research sites and technology solutions providers to work together to demonstrate the future of connected clinical research and clinical care through HL7 FHIR. Learn how you can engage to forge a path forward for clinical research infrastructure. Why You Should Attend:

Discover Key Insights: Learn about the enhancements you can make to advance your clinical research environment through better data exchange.

Learn what is possible: Understand how the Vulcan HL7 FHIR Accelerator is working to improve clinical care and research interoperability.

Explore Engagement Opportunities: Find support through this community of implementers, demonstrate your leadership, and drive research forward by participating in the Vulcan Interoperability Bridge Event.

Spread the word! Please feel free to share this invitation with colleagues or friends who are interested in making a significant impact on clinical research infrastructure by participating in the Vulcan Interoperability Bridge Event.Questions? Contact vib@HL7Vulcan.orgPresentation Slides [PDF - 2.4 MB]

ONC's HTI-2 proposed rule implements provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act and reflects ASPT/ONC’s focused efforts to advance interoperability and improve information sharing among patients, providers, payers, and public health authorities. Each session will be recorded and posted to the HTI-2 webpage.Wednesday, July 17th: Overview SessionTuesday, July 30th: Public HealthThursday, August 8th: Information BlockingThursday, August 15th: Patient, Payer, Provider API

Join ONC at the DSI Roadshow for Health IT Developers: Advancing your Understanding of ASTP/ONC Health IT Certification Program Requirements for 45 CFR 170.315(b)(11). During this session, we will review Certification Program requirements and guidance for health IT developers working to certify Health IT Modules to § 170.315(b)(11), enhancing your understanding of the certification process and requirements.Presentation Slides [PDF - 1030 KB]

ASTP/ONC has launched a search to fill the permanent positions of Chief Technology Officer, Chief AI Officer, and Chief Data Officer to build dedicated talent for this vital team. Attend this webinar to learn about these key executive roles and how to apply.Webinar Slides [PDF- 609 KB]  

Join colleagues from ONC and the National Cancer Institute for a follow-up webinar to the recent Cancer Research Data Exchange Summit. This webinar is designed to provide updates on our use case development activities and share pivotal findings that emerged from the summit discussions, including the Cancer Registry data element list.

On June 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule establishing a set of disincentives in CMS programs for certain health care providers that have been found to have committed information blocking by the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). The final rule, which reflects contributions from throughout the department, implements the HHS Secretary’s authority under section 4004 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act).ONC and CMS hosted an information session about the final rule on Wednesday June 26 at 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET. 

Mark your calendar for Thursday June 20, 2024 at 2:00 pm ET for a briefing from the HHS Office for Civil Rights’ policy team on their recently released HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy. Following welcomes from Micky Tripathi and OCR leadership, the team will provide an overview of the Rule and a Q&A session.

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the upcoming quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements.Agenda:

Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP)

Requirements for Decision Support Interventions and Predictive Models

Presentation Slides [PDF - 1 MB]Q&A: Certification Program Developer Roundtable [PDF - 233 KB]

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Cancer Institute (NCI) are excited to announce the upcoming United States Core Data for Interoperability Plus (USCDI+) Cancer Data Exchange Summit, May 8-9th. This two-day, in person meeting will bring together clinical, scientific and technical communities for information sharing as we identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in existing data standards and availability of data needed to implement the USCDI+ Cancer Moonshot Use Cases.In person registration for the USCDI+ Cancer Data Exchange Summit is limited due to logistical constraints and physical capacity. For those unable to attend in person, we are pleased to offer a virtual participation option. While active participation in break-out groups won’t be possible, you can still gain valuable insights by tuning in remotely to plenary sessions, keynote addresses, and updates on the USCDI+ Cancer use cases. Details on accessing the virtual platform will be provided closer to the event date. 

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the upcoming quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements.Presentation Slides [PDF - 2.1 MB]

For those of you joining us at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2024 Global Health Conference & Exhibition (aka HIMSS24), here’s an overview of ONC-led sessions that you won’t want to miss! Also, stop by kiosk #9239-08 in the Government Connections Plaza and say hi!

Now that 2023 Real World Testing is complete, Health IT Developers must submit a Real World Testing results report to their ONC-Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB). Results reports for Real World Testing conducted in 2023 must be made publicly available on the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL) no later than March 15, 2024. At this webinar, ONC will assist Health IT Developers in developing their Real World Testing results report and in meeting all Real World Testing requirements.Presentation Slides [947 KB]

ONC will host information sessions to explain the final rule. Each session will be one hour, except for the Insights Condition session which will be one hour and 15 minutes. The sessions will be recorded. 

Information Session #1: Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 1pm ET 

Decision Support Interventions Information Session: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 1pm ET 

Information Blocking Information Session: Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 1pm ET 

Overview with Question & Answer Information Session #2: Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 1pm ET 

Insights Condition Information Session: Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 3-4:15pm ET 

Watch the ONC Annual Meeting Plenary Sessions!For the first time since 2020, ONC hosted our Annual Meeting in-person in Washington, DC for two days of conversation, learning, and networking. If you weren’t able to join us, or just want to watch all over again, make sure to check out the recorded plenary sessions and slide decks from the breakout sessions in the agenda below. 

Join us for a moderated panel discussion with developers and implementers about the future FHIR ecosystem. Panelists will provide their perspectives on the impact of FHIR adoption and implementation on healthcare, addressing questions such as: what use cases will see greatest adoption (and what will happen to CCDA)? What challenges will we have to solve as more granular data is searchable over FHIR APIs? How will FHIR impact user experience of accessing health information?Presentation Sides [PDF - 2.6 MB]New in 2023 – The ONC Tech Forum is back in 2023, although with a slightly different look. Instead of a single event, ONC will now host Tech Forum workshops throughout the year, giving you multiple opportunities to learn about how we can advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability.

On October 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposed rule for public comment that would establish disincentives for health care providers found by the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) to have committed information blocking – when a provider knowingly and unreasonably interferes with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information except as required by law or covered by a regulatory exception. The proposed rule, which reflects contributions from throughout the department, implements the HHS Secretary’s authority under section 4004 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act).   Presentation Slides [PDF - 294 KB]

In this new series, come learn about clinical decision support (CDS) from the ONC team and real-world implementers.  New in 2023 – The ONC Tech Forum is back in 2023, although with a slightly different look. Instead of a single event, ONC will now host Tech Forum workshops throughout the year, giving you multiple opportunities to learn about how we can advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability.

This session will provide an overview of the recently published United States Core Data for Interoperability Version 4 (USCDI v4) and its relationship to HL7® FHIR® US Core and C-CDA, the health IT standards which enable exchange of USCDI data. This session will discuss the interrelated processes of updating each of these standards in a way that promotes adoption of these newer standards while minimizing development and implementation burden. Presentation Slides [PDF - 17.8 MB] New in 2023 – The ONC Tech Forum is back in 2023, although with a slightly different look. Instead of a single event, ONC will now host Tech Forum workshops throughout the year, giving you multiple opportunities to learn about how we can advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability.

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the upcoming quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements. View Presentation Slide [PDF - 2.4 MB]

Recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy is bringing patients unprecedented access to their health information. Join the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in October for a virtual event focused on patient access to health data. The day will bring together patients, providers, payers, and health IT developers to discuss how HHS policies are working in practice and how to maximize the impact of these policies. The event will also highlight educational tools and resources, such as patient-facing apps that enable the availability of patient information and make that health information easier to understand.

This two-day virtual workshop will highlight the current state of public health data exchange across the US, as well as ONC and CDC’s joint efforts to improve public health data infrastructure. Sessions will highlight national survey findings of hospitals’ engagement in electronic public health reporting and physicians’ experiences with immunization information exchange, explore the role of HIEs and technology vendors in public health data exchange, provide an overview of how FHIR can be used to support public health use cases, share updates on CDC’s Public Health Data Strategy, and more.

High data quality is essential to every aspect of healthcare, research and epidemiology, public health reporting, and realizing the potential of health IT, and is a key ingredient to data aggregation, linkage and interoperability. It is accessible, usable, and actionable, whereas low data quality, such as duplicate patient records or obsolete information creates barriers to care delivery, research insights, and leads to higher costs and inefficiencies.This symposium will review actionable data quality standards, assessment frameworks, metrics, and real-life challenges and success stories. Symposium attendees will gain knowledge and access to best practices and available solutions that they may apply in their everyday work. Presentation Slides [PDF - 6.3 MB]Q&A Document  [PDF - 148 KB]

The ONC Lantern and Inferno projects provide resources, data, and information that help light the way for FHIR API implementation. These projects are for you – the app developer, researcher, patient, and clinician – who are using these APIs to build new technologies and better inform and improve care delivery. We want to update you on this work and, most importantly, hear from you about your experiences and where we can take these projects next.

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the upcoming quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements. Agenda

Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP)

§ 170.315(b)(10) Electronic Health Information Export

Presentation Slides [PDF - 545 KB]  

ONC is excited to continue hosting the ONC Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Information Exchange Learning Forum, which brings together health care providers, community-based organizations, government, payers, health information exchange networks, IT platform developers, innovators, and other partners to share lessons learned, promising practices, and challenges related to exchanging SDOH data. Join us for our upcoming webinars between February and June 2023 as we discuss priority topics, such as governance, implementation, privacy, ethics, and measurement and evaluation. Navigate through the tabs below to find more information about and register for upcoming Learning Forum webinars, and to view the slides and recordings of past webinars. ONC Social Determinants of Health Information Exchange Learning Forum Primer [PDF - 256 KB]  

ONC's HTI-1 proposed rule seeks to implement provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act and make updates to the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program) with new and updated standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria. Implementation of the proposed rule’s provisions will advance interoperability, improve transparency, and support the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information. We are hosting a series of information sessions to explain the proposals in HTI-1. Each session will be recorded and posted to the HTI-1 webpage. Thursday, April 27th: Overview Session #1 Thursday, May 4th: DSI Proposals Thursday, May 11th: Insights Condition Thursday, May 18th: Information Blocking Thursday, June 1st: Impacts for Patients and Caregivers Thursday, June 8th: Brief Overview and Q&A Session

Recently, the JAMA Open Network released findings from a March 2023 study showing that most patients preferred to receive their test results immediately online. ONC information blocking regulations support patients’ access to their electronic test results without unnecessary delay, and the health IT community continues to implement innovative approaches to support such access. Join ONC to hear patient advocates and health IT experts discuss how more immediate access to test results is changing the care paradigm for patients. Also, hear how providers are advancing communications with patients throughout the test ordering and result process.    

Trillions of cells, four bases, which standard to use? Sync for Genes tests the use of data standards for genomics. Join ONC for this webinar to learn how HL7® FHIR® and other standards have been tested throughout the genomics pipeline. This virtual session will also share the history and accomplishments of Sync for Genes, and how you can contribute to the use of standards in genomics. Download slides [PDF - 540 KB] New in 2023 – The ONC Tech Forum is back in 2023, although with a slightly different look. Instead of a single event, ONC will now host Tech Forum workshops throughout the year, giving you multiple opportunities to learn about how we can advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability.

New data show increasing use of APIs and standards to improve interoperability between EHRs and apps. Join us for a presentation and discussion of the recent findings that provide insights across health care providers, app developers, and patients. Presenters will share new results relating to hospital use of APIs from the American Hospital Association Health IT Supplement, patient access to electronic health information from Health Information National Trends Survey data, digital health company experiences with EHR APIs based on a national survey of these companies, and changes in the app marketplace between 2019 and 2022. Speakers

Wesley Barker, Chief, Data Analysis Branch, ONC

Jordan Everson, Ph.D., Public Health Analyst, Data Analysis Branch, ONC

Natalya Maisel, Ph.D., Associate Director, Center for Clinical Informatics and Improvement Research, UCSF

Chelsea Richwine, Ph.D., Economist, Data Analysis Branch, ONC

Catherine Strawley, Public Health Analyst, Data Analysis Branch, ONC

New in 2023 – The ONC Tech Forum is back in 2023, although with a slightly different look. Instead of a single event, ONC will now host Tech Forum workshops throughout the year, giving you multiple opportunities to learn about how we can advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability. Presentation Slides [PDF - 1.3 MB]

For those of you joining us at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2023 Global Health Conference & Exhibition (aka HIMSS23), here’s an overview of ONC-led sessions that you won’t want to miss!

Join the ONC team to learn and ask your questions about our recent Social Determinants of Health Information Exchange Toolkit.  The Toolkit is a practical, on-the-ground resource designed to aid the health IT community in the implementation of initiatives that recognize the importance of using SDOH information. Download slides [PDF - 709 KB]  This document is being remediated for Section 508 compliance and will be updated with a final version in the near future. Contact us if you encounter any issues.

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the upcoming quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements.   Agenda

2015 Cures Update: A Year in Review

§ 170.315(b)(10) Electronic Health Information (EHI) Export

Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP)

Join us on Wednesday March 22, 12:00- 1:00 PM ET. Presentation Slides [PDF - 589 KB]

As a part of the newly created CDC Foundation President’s Council, the CDC Foundation will convene the first joint CDC and ONC Industry Information and Collaboration Day on February 27-28, 2023. This event will inform non-government organizations about CDC’s and ONC's plans for modernizing public health data and information systems and will provide the virtual or in-person attendees with opportunities to discuss their services with CDC and ONC staff. Join us on Monday, February 27 and Tuesday, February 28. Event times to be announced.

On Monday, February 13, HHS will recognize the first set of applicant organizations that are approved for onboarding as Qualified Health Information NetworksTM (QHINsTM) under TEFCASM. Following this approval, the organizations will officially begin the onboarding process. At this event, HHS Secretary Becerra will recognize these organizations for their willingness to voluntarily step up and meet the demanding TEFCA eligibility requirements, terms, and conditions of TEFCA participation.  View Buzz Blog About the Event

Start the New Year by joining the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) and ONC for a robust discussion on the need for a coordinated clinical trials enterprise that can quickly characterize emerging viral threats and evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines, therapeutics, and other countermeasures across a diversity of trial participants. This virtual session will feature perspectives from several leading industry voices as part of an outreach and engagement strategy designed to collect additional insights under two RFIs published in October, 2022.  The deadline for official submissions under both RFIs was extended to January 27, 2023. View Presenter and Panelist Biographies [PDF - 517 KB] Presentation Slides [PDF - 580 KB] Preparing U.S. Clinical Trials Infrastructure for Emergencies: A White House Virtual Roundtable Discussion On January 12, OSTP hosted a roundtable on clinical trials infrastructure and the emergency clinical trials effort generally. That recording is available here:

Health IT developers implementing and certifying to the ONC Certification criterion at § 170.315(g)(10) and API Condition and Maintenance of Certification requirements at § 170.404 are encouraged to attend and bring questions. Health IT developers interested FHIR conformance testing, including resources on writing your own conformance tests, are encouraged to check out the Inferno Framework on https://inferno.healthit.gov/. Thank you for your continued feedback on the § 170.315(g)(10) Standardized API Test Kit GitHub page and engagement in the developer community on the chat.fhir.org Inferno page. Please continue to send ONC any Certification Program inquiries using the ONC Health IT Feedback and Inquiry Portal.  

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the upcoming quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements. Presentation Slides [PDF - 1,148 KB] Agenda

2015 Edition Cures Update 2022 Requirements

Real World Testing

§ 170.315(g)(10) Standardized Application Programming Interface (API) for Patient and Population Services

General Inquires

Test Procedure Live Demonstration

Inferno Strategy Update

Got questions about information sharing under ONC’s information blocking regulations? Join ONC’s experts for our virtual office hours on September 22, October 6, and October 27 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET to ask us about the information blocking regulations.

As in years past, this year’s all-virtual 2022 ONC Tech Forum will feature industry perspectives on the progress made in health IT over the past year, and highlight how we can continue to advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability. What: #ONCTechForum When: September 9, 16 and 23, 2022

Is your organization using the SRA Tool to help conduct a security risk assessment (SRA)? ONC and OCR are hosting two webinars in September about the Security Risk Assessment Tool. Join us to learn how to review and update an assessment from a previous session, to receive a basic overview of the tool, hear highlights of enhancements made in version 3.3. There will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions and give feedback during the session.  There are two dates available for this webinar, and registration is limited to 3,000 participants for each presentation. The presentation will be the same for both sessions. A recording will be made available after the final webinar session. Register for a session: September 14, 2:00-3:00pm ET September 15, 11:00-12pm ET Download the SRA Tool →

The use of technology to enable electronic consent (eConsent) for how and when a person’s electronic health information is shared is central to placing patients in control of decisions regarding their data.  During this half-day workshop on August 16th at 12:00-4:30 pm ET, participants will explore technical standards and approaches to enable capturing, maintaining, and communicating a patient’s consent decision for sharing electronic health information throughout different life stages, within the context of applicable law. Participants will also explore capturing consent decisions to share EHI between healthcare providers and other non-HIPAA covered entities such as schools, courts, social services providers, employers etc. Event Pre-Work Packet [PDF - 305KB] Recordings for the plenary sessions and select breakout sessions are available in the agenda below. Agenda

The EHI Sharing Workshop has reached capacity and registration is closed. Please stay tuned for more EHI Sharing discussion opportunities. Join ONC for a healthcare provider-focused listening session and guided discussion on opportunities and challenges related to sharing Electronic Health Information (EHI). During this workshop, participants will explore approaches and lessons learned related to sharing whatever EHI is needed, when and where it is needed, within the context of applicable laws. Sharing electronic health information (EHI) when and where it is needed, while honoring patients’ privacy rights and preferences, requires thoughtful implementation of health IT-supported workflows and processes. This listening session and guided discussion will look at technical opportunities and challenges related to sharing Electronic Health Information (EHI) from health care providers’ perspectives. During this workshop, participants will explore technical approaches and implementation lessons learned by health care providers who are sharing a wide range of EHI when and where it is needed, within the context of applicable laws.

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program for the quarterly ONC Health IT Certification Program Developer Roundtable. These public meetings are open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as Certification Program updates, upcoming certification deadlines, and developer requirements Agenda

Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) Updates

Refresher on the Process

New Standards Approved for 2022

Updates to ONC Test Tools

Attestations Condition and Maintenance of Certification – April 2022 Submissions

Recording View recording | Passcode: AFE4YZ+6 Event Presentation Download event presentation [PPTX - 2.64 MB]

  The 2022 ONC Annual Meeting will be held in two parts – with education sessions on February 2-3 and a variety of dynamic and engaging panel sessions and exhibits on April 13-14.  February 2-3, 2022: Education Sessions and Office Hours:

Learn about TEFCA, Information Sharing, USCDI, and more!

Recordings and slides available below.

April 13-14, 2022: Panel Sessions, Exhibit Hall, and Networking:

Join us for dynamic and engaging conversations about health IT and health equity, public health, patient access, and health information exchange.

Follow the conversation! #ONC2022 Note: you must register for the April sessions even if you registered for and attended the education sessions in February. Agenda

The ONC Health IT Certification Program will be hosting a month of Inferno office hour sessions for health IT developers. Health IT developers implementing and certifying to the ONC Certification criterion at 170.315(g)(10) are encouraged to attend. The Inferno team will cover the release of Inferno Framework, including (g)(10) Standardized API Test Kit. You can learn more about the changes that are part of this release by reading the release notes in the (g)(10) Standardized API Test Kit GitHub repository. The prior release of the Inferno Program Edition (Release 1.9) will be hosted on inferno.healthit.gov/inferno for at least the next two months to support health IT developers’ transition to the new version of the tool. We encourage all Inferno users to visit and test the new Inferno Framework and please continue to provide feedback on the § 170.315(g)(10) Standardized API Test Kit GitHub page, engage the developer community on the chat.fhir.org Inferno page, and send ONC any inquiries using the ONC Health IT Feedback and Inquiry Portal.

The ONC Health IT Certification Program held the second of a series of quarterly roundtable meetings for health IT developers on March 9, 2022 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET . This public meeting that was open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC leads discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as program updates, certification deadlines, and developer requirements. Round Table Slides [PDF - 3.4 MB] Agenda:

ONC issued an RFI on January 21, 2022 seeking input from the public about electronic prior authorization standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria that could be adopted within the ONC Health IT Certification Program. Join us for office hours on February 24 from 1:00-2:30 pm ET to hear more information about the RFI, the process for commenting, and to ask your questions.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) hosted a webinar and workshop on February 9th to raise awareness for the Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies (PULSE) Initiative. The event was an effort to create national resilience through access to health information during disasters, including public health emergencies and natural disasters. Peers engaged in discussions on the current state of the PULSE Community technical solution, implementation and use considerations, promising practices, and enhancement opportunities. Additionally, there was a presentations from state partners who shared their experiences with the implementation and use of PULSE during emergency response events. The session agenda included:

An overview of the PULSE Initiative

A deep dive on the PULSE Community technical solution

State perspectives on PULSE Implementations

Breakout group discussions on challenges and opportunities

Ideas for the future of PULSE Community

Wrap-up

View the Presentation Slides [PDF - 4.8MB] PULSE Community Listening Session & Workshop Summary [PDF - 730KB] View PULSE Community Listening Session & Workshop Summary [PDF - 154 KB]

An ONC Artificial Intelligence Showcase – Seizing the Opportunities and Managing the Risks of Use of AI in Health IT Join us on January 14, 2022 from 12:00 pm to 4:30 pm ET, as we spotlight how federal agencies and industry partners are championing the design, development, and deployment of responsible, trustworthy AI in health IT.  Watch updates from federal agencies working to support AI innovation, while attempting to mitigate the risks of AI in health care, including its potential for unethical use and exacerbating systemic biases. Additionally, there will be presentations and demos from industry partners who are on the cutting edge of responsibly deploying AI in their organizations. A panel discussion will also be held at the end of the day.  View Agenda [PDF - 246 KB] View Presentation Slides [PDF - 12 MB] Watch Event Recording

On December 16 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm ET, ONC hosted a webinar, led by members of the Lantern Project, to discuss recent efforts to advance patient access through standards-based APIs. Through the Lantern Project, ONC has worked with stakeholders on proposed guidance for certified API developers to conform to Cures Final Rule requirements on FHIR endpoint list publication. Participants learned more about Lantern and discussed the proposed guidance on making endpoint list publication more standard and uniform.    Please note: in the attached slide deck and recording the e-mail address, alert-lantern@hitrc.org, is no longer active. Please e-mail LanternSupport@groups.mitre.org, Instead. View presentation slides [PDF - 2.8 MB]    

Got questions about information sharing under ONC’s information blocking regulations?  Join ONC’s experts for our virtual office hours on Friday, December 10 from 2:00 – 3:30 to ask us about the information blocking regulations in ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act final rule.

Join the ONC Health IT Certification Program on December 9, 2021 from 1:00 – 2:00pm ET in the first of a series of quarterly roundtable meetings for health IT developers. This is a public meeting that is open to all health IT developers, regardless of their participation in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. During these meetings, ONC will lead discussions tailored for the health IT developer community on topics such as program updates, certification deadlines, and developer requirements.    During the roundtable on December 9, health IT developers can expect the following topics to be addressed:   

Real World Testing Plan Submission

CHPL Developer Access

§ 170.315(g)(10): Standardized API for Patient and Population Services

§ 170.315(b)(3): Electronic Prescribing

§ 170.315(d)(12): Encrypt Authentication Credential

  View presentation slides [PDF - 2029 KB]

Join us on November 17, 2021 from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm EST for the next webinar in ONC’s clinician-focused webinar series on information sharing and the information blocking regulation. ONC experts will explain how ONC supports secure, appropriate sharing of electronic health information and how information sharing leads to more affordable and equitable care and improved care quality. Hear answers to questions such as:

What is electronic health information (EHI)?

Why does information sharing matter and how does it empower health care providers?

What are allowable exceptions and when do they apply?

What is the process for reporting potential information blocking and what happens after it is reported?

Note: If you’re unable to join the live presentation, a recording will be made available.   View presentation slides [PDF - 2.3 MB]

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is pleased to invite you to the Synthetic Health Data Challenge Winning Solutions Webinar. The webinar celebrates our six Challenge winners, each of whom will present their innovative work supporting the development of Synthea™ data-generation modules and the use of Synthea-generated synthetic health data. Register and attend to learn more.

Got questions about information sharing under ONC’s information blocking regulations? Join ONC’s experts for virtual office hours on Friday, September 24 from 2PM until 4PM ET to ask us about the information blocking regulations in ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act final rule. Stop by anytime from 2:00-4:00 pm ET

Please join us for a webinar session about the Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool this September. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are hosting a new webinar for users of the Security Risk Assessment Tool. Learn about the SRA Tool and how it can be used at your organization, hear about upcoming enhancements, ask questions, and give feedback during the SRA Tool Webinar. There are two dates available for this webinar. Registration is limited to 3,000 participants for each presentation. The presentation will be the same for both sessions. A recording will be made available after the final webinar session. Register for a session: September 23, 2:00-3:00pm ET September 24, 11:00-12pm ET Take the SRA Tool user survey → Download SRA Tool →

Register today for the all-virtual 2021 ONC Tech Forum to hear industry perspectives on the progress made in health IT over the past year, and how we can continue to advance health technology to improve patient care, health equity, data exchange, and interoperability. What: #ONCTechForum When: September 10 and 17, 2021

Register for our webinar reviewing the outcomes of a project focused on advancing the data infrastructure of patient-centered outcomes research using AI/ML training data sets. When: September 15, 2021, 4pm ET.

Join us on September 14, 2021 at 1PM ET for the first in a series of clinician-focused webinars on the information blocking regulation. Experts will explain how ONC supports secure, appropriate sharing of electronic health information and how information sharing leads to more affordable and equitable care and improved care quality. Hear answers to questions such as:

What is information blocking and why should I care?

Why is information sharing so important?

What information needs to be shared and with whom?

What are the allowable exceptions and when do they apply?

  View presentation slides [PDF - 986 KB]

Join ONC on July 27, 2021 at 10am EST for the “Clinical Decision Support (CDS) for Advancing Person-Centered Care and Health Equity” workshop. For many years, clinical decision support has played a vital role in supporting the delivery of effective patient care among healthcare providers.  CDS tools provide users with computerized alerts and clinical guidelines that can help reduce medical errors,  and provide diagnostic assistance to ensure comprehensive treatment for patients, as well as produce patient alerts for medication adherence.   However, CDS is not without challenges from the initial development phase through the implementation phase.   As artificial intelligence (Ai) is gaining popularity, and advancing  CDS tools, speakers will discuss how they are addressing bias during the development phase and implementation among patients to support equity in healthcare.  Several federal agencies will share how they are using CDS to improve healthcare and advance CDS in their respective portfolios.  The workshop will close with an open discussion on ways to improve the development and use of CDS considering various populations and the  added value it provides for such tools.  

Already Registered? Access the Event Here If you need to register retroactively, please contact jennifer.gillissen@kauffmaninc.com. The advancement and use of interoperable, standardized data on social needs and on the conditions in which people live, learn, work, and play (or social determinants of health, or SDOH) is critical as part of the comprehensive approach underway to advance equity for all. Addressing inequities in these conditions, often tied to social care needs and driven in large part due to the root causes of poverty and racism, can be supported and informed through the use of health IT. This workshop will explore existing and emerging data standards, tools, approaches, policies, models, and interventions for advancing the use and interoperability of non-clinical health data for individual and community health improvement. It will enable varying perspectives of health policymakers and health improvement implementers to highlight inventive solutions, share challenges, and ideas on data modernization to advance health equity. The workshop offers introductory content as well as deep exploration of key topics as part of SDOH health IT data use and interoperability including facilitated, expert stakeholder engagement. Workshop Objectives:

Highlight health IT approaches of multi-stakeholder and cross-sector partnerships to deliver data-driven health improvement solutions using multi-sector data to deliver care and to address unmet needs outside of the healthcare setting including specific initiatives’ approaches related to workflow, sustainability, and trust.

Explore innovative efforts for SDOH information exchange and interoperable referrals with considerations for consent and equity and focus on examples of implementation from the communities, regions, and states where the SDOH interoperability work is occurring.

Describe the current state and emerging opportunities for SDOH data standardization including the importance of data standards, standards development organization relevant activities, challenges with SDOH data use and interoperability including workflow integration, and standards and processes for interoperable social care referrals—including both necessary content and why this is critical for better care and to address unmet needs.

Support stakeholders getting started with SDOH data use and interoperability in the field by providing an overview of ONC tools, projects, and resources that can help inform the successful use of health IT for SDOH data use and interoperability, including fresh perspectives from ONC grantees focused on building innovative HIE services that benefit public health agencies and improving HIE services available to support communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agenda: Agenda details and speakers are subject to change.

Watch the Annual Meeting On Demand Thank you for joining ONC and over 3,000 health IT partners for the all-virtual 2021 ONC Annual Meeting, held March 29-30, 2021 Re-watch all of the sessions and check out the Exhibit Hall booths by logging in today.

ONC is participating in the AMIA 2021 Virtual Informatics Summit, leading two panels – one on projects funded under the LEAP in Health IT funding opportunity and the other on the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). The AMIA 2021 Virtual Informatics Summit brings together informatics professionals to learn about best practices, new methodologies and shared challenges in four main areas: translational bioinformatics, clinical research informatics, implementation informatics, and data science.  For more information visit the AMIA website.

Join ONC for an informational webinar "Understanding ONC’s Draft USCDI v2 and SVAP” on March 18, 2021, from 1:00 – 2:00pm ET. Speakers will discuss ONC’s Draft United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) Version 2 and the Standards Versions Advancement Process (SVAP) flexibility for ONC-Certified Health IT. We will also review several commonly asked questions on these topics and direct the audience to resources to learn more.   Webinar Recording Download Presentation [PDF - 1.9 MB]

Join ONC for an informational webinar on the issued Information Blocking (IB) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Speakers will identify important dates and events, provide insight into the January 2021 IB FAQs, discuss ONC’s future approach to IB guidance and education, and answer questions from the audience. Register Information Blocking: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Slides [PDF - 986 KB]

Join us on December 1, 2020, as we spotlight how application programming interface (API)-forward policies and industry actions are accelerating interoperability. This event will include updates from federal agencies as well as presentations and demos from industry partners that highlight how work underway is advancing innovation and competition in the health IT ecosystem. A panel discussion will also be held at the end of the day.  

ONC is participating in the AMIA 2020 Virtual Symposium, speaking at a number of health IT focused sessions. The AMIA Annual Symposium brings together informatics professionals from diverse backgrounds committed to transforming health through informatics. For more information visit the AMIA website.

Join ONC for an informational webinar about the Interim Final Rule with Comment Period on Monday, November 2 at 3:00 pm EST. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ONC is extending compliance dates and timeframes for Information Blocking and the ONC Health IT Certification Program. The Interim Final Rule includes:

Extending the applicability date for the Information Blocking provisions.

Extending the compliance dates in the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Program), including certain 2015 Edition health IT certification criteria and Conditions and Maintenance of Certification requirements.

Making changes to the Program by updating standards and clarifying regulatory text for specific certification criteria.

Making technical corrections and clarifications.

Read more about the IFC    

Recording Event Presentation - Presentation Slides [PDF - 1,993 KB]

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is hosting the Advancing Interoperability: Social Determinants of Health Workshop, a one day virtual workshop on Monday, September 21, 2020. As part of ONC’s collaborative approach for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), the objective of this workshop is to gather health care and human services providers from various professional societies to understand their approaches to integrating SDOH data into value-base care and to discuss tools to accomplish these goals and the challenges to reaching them. This workshop will also provide stakeholders information and tools needed for the development of the social determinants of health data management in clinical practice guidelines and maintenance of certification activities. In the fall of 2019, four new Interoperability Needs were added to Section I: Social, Psychological, and Behavioral Data representing drug use, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and transportation insecurity of the Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA). Many of the standards or specifications are at production for the implementation maturity level and are still requesting feedback. Incorporating social determinants of health such as those included in the ISA in health care models is of increased interest when it comes to value-based payments. More payers are developing novel ways to address SDOH issues, however providers still struggle with the collection of SDOH data and how to use and share the data in an interoperable and beneficial way that is not burdensome. This workshop will provide attendees the opportunity to share any advancements in standards that are being used which may or may not include standards included in the ISA. View Slides [PDF - 9.6 MB] Agenda – Download PDF Document Speaker Biographies – Download PDF Document  

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is hosting a one day virtual workshop on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, for Clinical Decision Support (CDS). A central promise of CDS is to help reduce the burden of information overload and increasingly complex clinical knowledge and guidelines posed to clinicians by making information about a patient easier to assess or more apparent, or to foster optimal problem solving, decision making, and action. CDS must also deliver the right information  to the right person in the right format through the right channel at the right time in the workflow. While CDS is recognized as a way to improve health care and make it more efficient, clinical users’ experiences with implemented CDS have been sub-optimal, and CDS development and deployment remain inconsistent and fraught with re-work, even among HHS agencies. This workshop will identify novel approaches being used in CDS that present opportunities for collaboration and harmonization. Federal partners and key public stakeholders are invited to attend to learn about the current efforts in CDS and opportunities to leverage federal work to help public efforts, and vice-versa. The expected outcomes include an identification of CDS silos, an understanding of the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning in CDS and solutions to address cross agency/stakeholder CDS issues. View Slides [PDF - 16.97 MB] Agenda – Download PDF Document Speaker Biographies – Download PDF Document National Academy of Medicine report Optimizing Strategies for Clinical Decision Support Report – Download PDF Document

Join ONC and members of the FHIR at Scale Taskforce (FAST) initiative for a full day workshop titled: “FAST, An Architectural Framework for Ecosystem Infrastructure.” Having developed and proposed solutions to address technical infrastructure challenges associated with deploying FHIR solutions “at scale,” the FAST community now seeks to explore and solicit feedback on the both the architectural considerations and pathways to implementation for each of these solutions. The FAST Initiative recognizes that ongoing collaboration and coordination with industry leading efforts and a broader group of industry stakeholders is key to understanding industry challenges and successes, ensuring an accurate industry wide gap analysis, maintaining awareness of new developments, and avoiding duplication of efforts. To that end, this workshop will support The FAST Initiative’s goal to maintain transparency and communication, while welcoming industry feedback that can inform our collective efforts and approaches. For more information on the FAST initiative, please review the following resources:

The Official FAST Confluence site

The FAST 2020 Mid-Year Report

The FAST 2019 End of Year Report

Workshop Goals:

Update community, raise industry awareness and share the FAST progress and solutions (V3 solutions documents draft).

Gather industry feedback, engage target future “landing places” and figuring out how to put solutions into practice.

Feedback/content to feed into FAST Action Plan (e.g., ‘homes’, deployment considerations, etc.).

Present solutions into context – the FAST Ecosystem Architecture.

Breakout Session Approach:

Facilitator/moderator to introduce topic/content.

FAST panelists to support the facilitated discussion.

Industry reaction Panel, not presenting, but responding to questions/debating the FAST identify discussion points.

Broader discussion with other attendees/participants via Q & A.

Join us for a final working session on patient identity and patient matching. We invite individuals and organizations to provide input and insight into existing challenges and promising innovations in patient identity and matching. This final session will focus on the following key areas: privacy and security, research and evaluation, standards, and innovation. This feedback will inform ONC’s report to Congress on evaluating the effectiveness of technical and operational methods that improve identification of patients. ONC is soliciting feedback from all attendees, presentations are not required. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit comments during and after the session to Identity.ONC@hhs.gov.

ONC hosted an all-virtual Tech Forum, convening industry experts and federal partners to continue the summertime tradition we started with the “Interoperability Forum” in 2017. We discussed the exciting technical innovations that are happening in health IT and have the potential to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare in support of improved health outcomes.  

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Thank you to those who joined us in-person and virtually for the 2020 ONC Annual Meeting! This year’s event, Connecting Policy and Technology: Bringing the EHR to the Patient, gathered health IT partners for a combination of plenaries and breakout sessions that covered a variety of health IT, healthcare, and innovation topics.  Slides from presenters will be posted on this page in the near future. Keep coming back as we'll post the presentations on an ongoing basis.    Annual Meeting Webcast Archive  

Recording Event Presentation -  Presentation Slides [PDF - 1910KB]