Events: 2023

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: