The American Hospital Association raised concerns about the proposed healthcare IT interoperability rule. HTI-2from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), arguing against “burdensome” encryption requirements.
The ONC’s proposed HTI-2 rule aims to improve health care data interoperability and information sharing and builds on the previous HTI-1 final rule.
Big changes
It proposes major changes to the healthcare IT certification program, expanding its scope to include technologies used by payers and public health agencies. This is the first time the program has expanded beyond electronic medical records.
It also revises information blocking regulations, introduces new exceptions, and codifies the requirements of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA).
In an open letter to Dr. Micky Tripathi, the assistant secretary for technology policy at the ONC, praised the AHA aspects such as aligning with CMS APIs, improving the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) and promoting public health data sharing.
However, a major concern has been the higher accountability standard for data sharing imposed on providers than on payers. “Providers would still be held to a higher standard of liability,” the letter said.
Aggressive timeline
The AHA also criticized the aggressive timeline for USCDI Version 4, suggesting it be extended so smaller hospitals could comply, calling deadlines “too aggressive.”
The organizations opposed new encryption requirements, arguing they would be burdensome and costly without providing clear benefits, and urged the ONC to align encryption rules with existing cybersecurity practices.
The AHA expressed concerns about TEFCA’s governance structure and called for more direct oversight from the ONC. They also called for clearer guidance on the suspension of Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs).
However, the AHA expressed general support for several provisions in the proposed HTI-2 rule, including maintaining a strong commitment to protecting patient data, and endorsed efforts to improve interoperability of public health data.
The AHA consists of approximately 5,000 member hospitals, health care systems and other health care organizations. The AHA’s letter follows a similar message earlier this week from the EHR Association, which argued that regulations with “this level of negative market impact for healthcare IT developers” would likely result in “disruption and stress” for providers who participate in CMS payment programs.
While healthcare stakeholders appear generally optimistic about HTI-2, others have also expressed concerns about the tight compliance timelines and limited potential for unstructured data use under the proposed rule.
Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.
Email the writer: nathaneddy@gmail.com
Twitter: @dropdeaded209