1upHealth, Inc.’s Post

It seems that the government is serious about finally realizing the vision of true health data interoperability. The attached Point-of-Care Partners blog post describes the recently released HTI-2 Proposed Rule which is another step in the fruition of that vision. Point-of-Care Partners can help your healthcare organization stay ahead of the waves of regulatory activity around interoperability. Let me know if you are interested in learning how.

In today's healthcare landscape, patients are asking for more control and transparency over their health data. The Patient Access API, part of the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F), is designed to make this happen. But what does it mean for payers? 🤔 In our latest blog, Rich Almeida breaks down the key requirements, deadlines, benefits, and industry trends surrounding the Patient Access API, and how it can transform compliance into a major opportunity for payers. ✅ Learn how the API empowers patients with real-time access to health information ✅ Discover how it can drive better member engagement, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency ✅ Explore emerging trends like scaling patient access and boosting utilization 🔗 Read the full blog now: https://lnkd.in/e4EQPgXR #FHIR #PatientAccessAPI #CMS #Interoperability

💡Part 3 of Steve Gravely and Gravely Group's ongoing #HTI2ProposedRule series delving into the Proposed Rule for Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability. Follow along for the full breakdown! 📢 _______________________________________________________________ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) said on July 10 that HTI-2 builds on the work of HTI-1 and #TEFCA to continue the march towards full interoperability. 🎙️Micky Tripathi, National Coordinator at ONC, said that HTI-2 will “expand the horizons and the capability of interoperability”. Here are some highlights of key parts of HTI-2 that do NOT deal with #InformationBlocking. 1.      Certification of Public Health IT systems- ONC will begin to certify public health-specific IT systems and products to improve the interoperability between healthcare providers that are using certified EHR products and “native” systems developed by, and for, public health agencies. ONC says a primary goal of this certification is to establish a baseline for functionality of public health IT systems.    2.      FHIR APIs- ONC states that 97% of hospitals and 80% of ambulatory providers have access to FHIR APIs but usage is frustrated by the inability to discover the APIs and to automatically connect to them. ONC intends to require certified EHRs to support dynamic client registration as used in TEFCA. 🎙️Steve Gravely says, "eHealth Exchange expressed significant concerns with the TEFCA requirement of the UDAP dynamic registration standard, so we should take a close look at the proposals in HTI-2 and consider submitting comments on them." 3.      USCDI v.4 will be required for certification effective 1-1-2028 and v.3 will be retired.

CMS is turning up the heat on payers with new FHIR-based data sharing rules. Is your organization ready for the value-based revolution? The quest for value in healthcare is nothing new, but CMS is raising the stakes. New regulations mandating the use of FHIR® are forcing payers and providers to step up their game and compete on quality and outcomes, not just cost. Read more in our latest by Jennifer Bresnick here: https://hubs.ly/Q02QDtww0 #healthcare #digitaltransformation CHIME Digital Health Insights

Six months after implementing new AI transparency and interoperability requirements, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has proposed another major policy update with significant implications for public health and payer health IT. The HTI-2 proposed rule implements provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act and introduces new standards and updates to enhance healthcare interoperability and data sharing. It also supports the technical requirements of the CMS' Interoperability and Prior Authorization final rule, which aims to transition payers to electronic prior authorization. Learn more in Fierce Healthcare: https://lnkd.in/ghZ8GeW5 I #Interoperability #PriorAuthorization #CMS #DataSharing #HealthcareInnovation 

We want to applaud Micky Tripathi and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy office for this outstanding blog post today. After more than 7 years of FHIR APIs being in production, our consumer-facing application community is experiencing all of these issues and more. This is severely impacting their ability to provide patients with the health care information they need for themselves and their loved ones. We also believe this is largely a behavior problem and this bad behavior needs to stop. Immediately. We have been clear for the last few years on the challenges we are facing. In December 2023, we published best practices for FHIR deployment. https://lnkd.in/eNymEMth In June 2024, we had a webinar on how to improve the CMS Patient Access APIs with Brendan Keeler, Flexpa; Imran Qureshi, b.well Connected Health; Jennifer Blumenthal, OneRecord; Patrick Carter, CommonHealth https://lnkd.in/eVV96rWA In October 2024, we provided additional comments on ASTP's HTI-2 rule with additonal recommendations for how to improve FHIR API connectivity. https://lnkd.in/ejgndpfU We look forward to working with ASTP, CMS, OIG, Electronic Health Record Association, and health systems across the country on how we can improve FHIR API connectivity for applications, providers, payers, and most importantly consumers together. There is no other community in the country who has more experience working with FHIR APIs than the CARIN Alliance and we want to ensure everyone can get more data with less friction. https://lnkd.in/eKE9ZDrZ

Happy to be included in a recent article in Healthcare IT Today on improving interoperability through TEFCA. In my commentary, I discuss the need for QHIN participation from both payers and providers in order to see the benefits of the framework come to fruition. Excellent insight from other industry leaders as well. The full article can be found here: https://lnkd.in/exnbPScq

New research from Turquoise Health shows crucial momentum toward increasing healthcare data availability and transparency. Compliance with CMS transparency regulations was much higher in 2023 compared to 2022, showing progress toward pricing data becoming available for use and translation. https://lnkd.in/e6ABGEas The next step is to ensure that available data is usable and actionable, per our Executive Director Caroline Pearson’s recent article: https://lnkd.in/eQTrsqrq #Data #DataTransparency #Healthcare #HealthcareData

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's latest round of proposed policies, while anticipated, presents a wealth of implications to analyze. This new set of proposals offers a significant opportunity for the healthcare industry to advance towards a more seamlessly interconnected data ecosystem. These policies aim to enhance interoperability, improve patient access to health information, and promote the adoption of standardized APIs. By addressing these key areas, the ONC is paving the way for more efficient data exchange between healthcare providers, patients, and other stakeholders. As the healthcare sector digests this proposal, it will be crucial for stakeholders to actively engage in the public comment process and collaborate on effective implementation strategies. #datafluidity #patientcare #standards #APIs #improvepa

📢 ASTP Seeks Feedback on Draft FHIR Action Plan 📢 The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) is seeking input on the Federal FHIR Action Plan. This draft outlines steps to guide federal agencies in adopting the FHIR standard, enhancing collaboration, and avoiding duplication in health data efforts. Key focus areas include: *Streamlining healthcare data exchange *Developing new capabilities like "FHIR Write" for integrating data from external sources *Improving public health data sharing with initiatives like HL7 Helios Accelerator 🔗 Read the draft: Federal FHIR Action Plan https://lnkd.in/eqvAD8H3 #FHIR #HealthIT #Interoperability #HealthcareInnovation #ASTP SEA Healthcare #qualityimprovement