AHIMA Supports Proposals to Improve Interoperability and Transparency

A newly proposed federal rule will help protect patient privacy, continue to emphasize the role of health information (HI) professionals, and promote sharing of electronic health information, according to an AHIMA official.

On April 11, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released a proposed rule titled “Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing.” The ONC said the rule would implement certain provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act and make enhancements to the ONC Health IT Certification Program to advance interoperability, improve transparency, and support the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information.

The agency is seeking public comments on the proposals through June 20, and it will host information sessions in the coming weeks, including an overview session on April 27.

Among the provisions of the proposed rule is one that would adopt the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) Version 3 (V3) as a standard within the certification program and establish an expiration date for USCDI Version 1 as an adopted standard in the program. The latest version includes new data classes regarding health status and health insurance information.

AHIMA will continue reviewing the rule to determine its effect on health information management.

“We applaud ONC for continuing to advance data standards in healthcare by formally adopting USCDI V3 and for working to further protect patient privacy by allowing providers to flag patient data that needs additional disclosure protections,” said AHIMA Director of Regulatory Affairs Andrew Tomlinson. “These proposals continue to emphasize health information professionals' important role in healthcare data exchange and protection in the post-21st Century Cures Act world. We look forward to working with ONC throughout the comment process to ensure the regulatory goals outlined in this proposed rule are achieved and make sense for the healthcare continuum.”

Certification Program Revisions Support Health IT Functionality

Other provisions of the proposed rule include:

• Implementing the Electronic Health Record Reporting Program as a new condition of certification for developers of certified health information technology under the certification program.
• Revising several certification program criteria such as clinical decision support, patient demographics and observations, electronic case reporting, and application programming interfaces for patient and population services.
• Updating standards and implementation specifications adopted under the certification program to advance interoperability, support enhanced health IT functionality, and reduce burden and costs.
• Promoting greater trust in the predictive decision support interventions (DSIs) used in healthcare. This would help users determine whether the predictive DSI is fair and safe while also enabling market competition, according to the ONC.

“In addition to fulfilling important statutory obligations of the 21st Century Cures Act, implementing these provisions is critical to advancing interoperability, promoting health equity, and supporting expansion of appropriate access, exchange, and use of electronic health information,” said Micky Tripathi, PhD, national coordinator for health information technology. “We look forward to reviewing public comments on ONC’s proposed rule.”

The rule also would modify and expand exceptions in information blocking regulations to support information sharing. The ONC said the rule clarifies regulatory terms and addresses feedback it received on the need for additional information about the intent and application of information blocking regulatory provisions. AHIMA said it supports clarification on information blocking regulations.

“This information blocking rule from ONC really sets the stage on how they will function in the short term and shows they’re dedicated to furthering interoperability,” Tomlinson said. “They’re building on what they started.”

The ONC is also developing two other proposed rules related to the 21st Century Cures Act: Establishment of Disincentives for Health Care Providers who Have Committed Information Blocking; and Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability.

For more information and resources on the “Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing” rule, visit healthit.gov/proposedrule.

Damon Adams is content production editor for AHIMA.