The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology released the final 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategy, which aims to improve care delivery and experiences for patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, public health professionals and others in the health care continuum.
ASTP says that by focusing on person-centered and inclusive design as the first of the federal health information technology policies, the plan aims to “strengthen an individual’s ability to securely access and use their own health information to take greater control over your own health.”
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Pursuant to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, HHS developed a up-to-date strategic health IT plan, published September 30, to outline federal goals and objectives and detail how federal agencies will regulate, purchase, develop, finance, research and leverage healthcare IT to improve patient care and health outcomes.
The draft, which ASTP released in March for public comment, was developed after a comprehensive collaborative effort with more than 25 federal agencies that play key roles in health IT development, HHS says.
Under Goal 1, the federal government plans to “support individuals to access and use their EHI securely, privately, and with little effort.”
An crucial part of helping unserved or underserved populations – low-income people, members of racial, ethnic, tribal and rural communities, and people with disabilities – safely and conveniently access and employ electronic health information is “expanding access to affordable smartphones, broadband and other connected technologies.”
According to the association, this goal is related to improving access to broadband connections in both rural and urban areas strategic document.
One of the goals of Goal 4 directs federal agencies to “improve and expand broadband access to, adoption, use of, and promote the availability of critical communications infrastructure and services” to address identified needs and gaps in health IT infrastructure.
“The plan recognizes how our health care system can benefit from state-of-the-art communications infrastructure, particularly in rural and underserved areas, which will enable us to better engage individuals, their caregivers and physicians across the care system and deliver high-quality care while reducing costs, “Michele Ellison, general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission and chairwoman of the agency’s Connect2Health task force, said in an HHS statement.
A BIGGER TREND
In the final federal health IT strategy, the government said it plans to build on the progress of the previous plan, which focused on making appropriate sharing of electronic health records “the expected norm in health care.”
To this end, the 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan promotes a contemporary health IT infrastructure and removes barriers to access, exchange and employ of EHI.
Notably, as of September 17, “more than 41,500 facilities in all 50 states and two territories are actively submitting electronic initial case reports to public health agencies using electronic case reporting under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Data Modernization Initiative,” it stated. strategic document for 2024–2030.
The federal government also emphasized the policy and technology elements necessary to meet the diverse healthcare data needs of all IT users, noting that the 2024-2030 strategy supports health data, technology and interoperability: certification program updates, algorithm transparency and information sharing final version of the rule, known as HTI-1.
Regarding cybersecurity, it is also consistent with the HHS Healthcare Sector Cybersecurity Concept Paper and the Voluntary Cybersecurity Goals for the Healthcare Sector.
Although the American Hospital Association has said it supports CPG, the provider organization rejected an earlier HHS proposal to penalize hospitals for cyberattacks, which the agency included in a cybersecurity policy document released last year.
Then in July – after the Change Healthcare and Ascension cyber attacks – U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner of Virginia wrote to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger, urging them to end voluntary cybersecurity requirements and implement minimum standards cyber already considered mandatory.
ON RECORDING
“The release of our latest Health IT Strategy is the culmination of partnerships across the federal government to examine the forces shaping today’s health care ecosystem and develop a set of strategies that will prioritize resources, align and coordinate federal IT initiatives and activities in healthcare , signal industry priorities, and benchmark and evaluate progress over time,” Micky Tripathi, assistant secretary for technology policy and national coordinator for health information technology, said in an HHS statement.
The HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum will be held from October 31 to November 1 in Washington, DC Find out more and register.