Interoperability

Portrait of Alex Baker

13 Areas to Improve Electronic Prior Authorization

Alex Baker | May 31, 2022

In January 2022, ONC issued a Request for Information (RFI) that sought public input on the ONC Health IT Certification Program and how it could incorporate standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria related to electronic prior authorization. Shortly thereafter, ONC charged the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) with providing input and recommendations in response to this RFI. The Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA) RFI Task Force of the HITAC led consideration of the charge and developed a report and recommendations that were recently approved by the full HITAC.

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Portrait of Elise Sweeney Anthony

Marching Forward: The Path to Operationalize TEFCA

Elise Sweeney Anthony | May 16, 2022

On January 18, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the TEFCA Recognized Coordinating Entity® (RCETM), The Sequoia Project, released the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common AgreementSM (TEFCASM). The next key step for TEFCA is the release of resources to advance its operationalization, such as standard operating procedures (SOPs). These SOPs will include specific policies and procedures to further guide QHINs and will identify, where applicable, necessary technical implementation requirements.

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Portrait of Beth Ellinport

San Diego Health Connect Takes a Big LEAP Over the Barrier of Consent Management

Beth Ellinport | April 12, 2022

Editor’s Note: On April 14, 2022 at the ONC Annual Meeting, San Diego Health Connect will be demo-ing their project in the exhibit hall.
How can we improve the ability of patient to convey their preferences regarding access to and use of their electronic medical record information? San Diego Health Connect – a recipient of an ONC Leading Edge Acceleration Projects in Health IT (LEAP) program award – developed a scalable consent framework for electronic health records to help answer this question.

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Portrait of Mike Berry

ONC’s Health Information Technology Advisory Committee: A Year in Review and a Look Ahead

Mike Berry | March 9, 2022

The Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) plays an important role in ONC activities and objectives. Required by the 21st Century Cures Act, the HITAC has been operational since 2018 and represents a wide range of health IT stakeholders who inform ONC’s policies and programs.

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Portrait of Micky Tripathi

3…2…1…TEFCA is Go for Launch

Micky Tripathi | January 18, 2022

The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common AgreementSM is now available. Within the health information technology (health IT) world, few things have been as elusive as a governance framework for nationwide health information exchange. When ONC was formed in 2004, the concept of a nationwide health information network—where your information could be located across the country in a click—was a big picture vision that drove the federal government’s early health IT infrastructure, standards, policy actions, and investments.

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