HHS proposed rule seeks to align health IT investments

A proposed rule from HHS would require healthcare entities that contract with the agency to use government-certified health IT.

The proposed rule aims to advance the department's Health IT Alignment Policy. Introduced in the summer of 2022, the agency-wide management policy aims to advance health IT interoperability through departmental activities.

Secretary of HHS Xavier Becerra called on the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ASTP) to collaborate with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR) to establish and oversee an agencywide approach to ensuring that health IT requirements in grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and policy and regulatory actions align with HHS data standards.

"By aligning on standards that enable interoperability, HHS is ensuring that federal investments do not contribute to the proliferation of proprietary modes of exchange and data silos that inhibit access, exchange and use of data," wrote Micky Tripathi, assistant secretary for technology policy and national coordinator for health IT, and Lisa Molyneux, assistant secretary for financial resources, in a blog post.

"Promoting interoperability through HHS investments can lead to more connected care for patients, as well as more seamless data exchange across other facets of the health care landscape, such as public health and research activities," they added.

Continued implementation of the Health IT Alignment Policy is critical to achieving the federal health IT goal of a healthcare system that uses data to drive patient engagement, lower costs, deliver high-quality care and improve health outcomes, the officials emphasized.

The HHS Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR): Acquisition of Information Technology; Standards for Health Information Technology proposed rule is available for public comment until October 8, 2024.

Hannah Nelson has been covering news related to health information technology and health data interoperability since 2020.