ONC Releases US Core Data for Interoperability Draft Version 3

ONC has released the United States Core Data for Interoperability Draft Version 3 (USCDI v3) which includes new data classes that look to advance health equity and public health data interoperability.

Draft USCDI v3 will be open for public feedback until April 30, 2022. ONC plans to release the final USCDI v3 in July 2022.

In particular, ONC added two new data classes to USCDI v3: Health Status and Health Insurance Information.  

The new data class Health Status is made up of four data elements: Disability Status, Mental Function (which includes the more specific Cognitive Status), Functional Status, and Pregnancy Status.

“The Health Status data class provides a broader context than the existing Health Concerns data class, which contains the single general data element Health Concerns,” officials noted in the January 2022 ONC Standards Bulletin.

In Draft USCDI v3, the Health Status data class also includes two existing data elements, Health Concerns and Smoking Status, which were reclassified from their own data classes as found in USCDI v2.

ONC officials said that the ability to exchange data that represent these more specific health statuses will help advance health IT to achieve health equity.

The new Health Insurance Information data class is set to provide an opportunity for health IT to capture and exchange elements related to health insurance coverage.

“This information can be useful in the care of patients, for price transparency, and in the identification of disparities related to insurance coverage,” the officials pointed out.

The Health Insurance Information data class includes seven new elements: Coverage Status and Relationship to Subscriber; Member, Subscriber, and Group Identifiers; and Coverage Type and Payer Identifier.

Draft USCDI v3 also includes the following additional data elements to the Patient Demographics data class: Related Person’s Name, Related Person’s Relationship, Date of Death, Occupation, Occupation Industry, and Tribal Affiliation.

Related Person’s Name and Related Person’s Relationship is set to enable linkages between maternal and child records while also identifying other related persons, such as caregivers, custodians, and guardians.

The Date of Death data element aims to support patient matching, public health, and vital records reporting, officials wrote.

ONC added Occupation and Occupation Industry data elements to support public health, equity concerns, and to capture military service, the bulletin explained.

Additionally, ONC added Tribal Affiliation as a self-reported data element extensively captured by the Indian Health Service (IHS) to aid in eligibility determination for IHS services, care coordination with non-tribal medical facilities, and identification of disparities in and across tribal populations.

“These data elements also support social or environmental factors that support person-centered care, enable research to advance health equity, and social determinants of health,” ONC officials wrote.

Draft USCDI v3 also includes two additional elements for the Laboratory data class: Specimen Type and Result Status. Officials said that these elements aim to address public health reporting priorities, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

ONC considered 400 submissions from the ONDEC submission system to inform Draft USCDI v3. Using established prioritization criteria, ONC selected the most mature data elements for Draft USCDI v3, including data elements submitted during previous USCDI submission cycles.