Source: Health Data Management
ONC continues to work on facilitating the exchange of information. Together with the Department of Health and Human Services, it bears responsibility for a section of the 21st Century Cures Act that looks to prohibit information blocking – any practice that impedes the flow of patients’ clinical information. ONC also plays a role in gaining consensus on standards. It’s an active participant in efforts to find ways to use the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard, among others intended to use coding that can enable the orderly exchange of health information between health organizations. Through the use of FHIR-enabled application programming interfaces, technology can enable consumers to access their health information and present them in readable formats on a variety of platforms, including smartphones.