Source: Healthcare Dive
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology was born two decades ago, tasked with creating an interoperable health IT infrastructure and shifting the country away from paper medical records. Much has changed since then. The vast majority of hospitals and physicians now use electronic health records. Nationwide health data exchange under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA, went live in December, after years of work. And now, artificial intelligence-enabled tools — including products that aim to cut down on providers’ administrative tasks — signal more change ahead for the industry. Late last year, the ONC finalized a sweeping rule that included transparency requirements for certified clinical decision support and predictive tools. Micky Tripathi, head of the ONC, sat down with Healthcare Dive to discuss the past 20 years and how the agency’s work aims to create the foundation for the next generation of healthcare technology.