Source: Healthcare IT News
As explained by Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Micky Tripathi (whose new job title comes after a departmental reorganization this past July) in a recent blog post, the move is a key part of the HHS Health IT Alignment Policy announced by the Biden Administration in 2022. The goal of the move – done in tandem with HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary of Financial Resources – is to “establish and oversee a consistent HHS-wide approach to ensure that health IT requirements in grants, cooperative agreements, contracts and policy and regulatory actions align with HHS-adopted data standards,” said Tripathi. “By aligning on standards that enable interoperability,” he explained, “HHS is ensuring that federal investments do not contribute to the proliferation of proprietary modes of exchange and data silos that inhibit access, exchange, and use of data.