ONC ’s HTI-1 Places Undue Burdens on Healthcare Providers, Health IT Developers

The following is a guest article by David Bucciferro, Chair of the EHR Association
In April 2023, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released its much-anticipated proposed rule to advance interoperability, improve transparency, and support further access, exchange, and use of electronic health information (EHI). While the EHR Association has long supported the goals of the proposed rule, called Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing Proposed Rule (HTI-1), we have a number of real concerns about the impact it would have on the industry if finalized as proposed.
Many of our concerns center on the proposed implementation timeframes associated with various concepts included in HTI-1, as well as ONC’s failure to sufficiently consider the burden compliance will place on provider organizations and health IT developers. Specifically, while we appreciate that ONC is under pressure to implement some of the requirements from the 21st Century Cures legislation, health IT developers need more time than allotted in HTI-1 to deliver safe, compliant, and high-quality versions of their certified products. Providers will also need sufficient time to implement and become proficient on that upgraded software.
It is commonly accepted that 18-24 months are needed to complete the development, testing, and safe deployment of new software versions – a position we have...

Source: EMR and HIPAA - June 7, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Clinical EMR-EHR Health IT Company Healthcare IT Regulations Advanced Interoperability CDI Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Clinical Decision Support CMS David Bucciferro Decision Support Interventions DSI eHI EHR Ass Source Type: blogs