ASTP introduces draft Federal FHIR Action Plan 2024
This week, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (formerly known as ONC) released its 2024 Draft Federal FHIR Action PlanASTP bills the new document as a “curated catalog” that collects all the different ways in which various federal departments are using the HL7 interoperability standard and its associated implementation specifications.
“Federal agencies are adopting and using FHIR to meet a range of agency needs, including facilitating care coordination and expanding individuals’ access to their health information,” Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Avinash Shanbhag and Senior Innovation Analyst Adam Wong wrote in a Sept. 23 report. blog post.
“The draft action plan serves as a central resource for federal agencies and anyone in the health IT community seeking the FHIR-based capabilities currently in use across the federal government.”
The goal, they said, is to build an innovation ecosystem that can help drive more consistent use of the FHIR standard across agencies. They hope that its coordinated implementation will help further break down data silos that “separate patients, providers, payers, public health, and research.”
Other priorities include more effective use of real-world evidence for regulatory approvals, research, pandemic response and integration of social services.
The FHIR action plan specifically focuses on six components: core, network, payment and health quality, care delivery and engagement, public health and emergency response, and research:
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Core FHIR specifications and components are the most fundamental and have the broadest applicability in healthcare services. They are used for fundamental operations and serve as reusable building blocks to support many use cases.
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Network specifications apply to FHIR capabilities for accessing and exchanging data across health information networks, enabling data to be shared securely on a national scale.
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Payment and health quality components have been developed to reduce the reporting burden on clinicians and caregivers.
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Care delivery and engagement specifications based on FHIR are intended to facilitate patient access to their health data and the healthcare system. They are also intended to reduce the burden on healthcare providers and assist healthcare providers in areas such as decision support.
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The FHIR Public Health and Emergency Response specifications focus on modernizing public health data and infrastructure.
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Research components should lead to a fully digital healthcare system that uses FHIR for research activities.
“For each area, we list the most mature and broadly applicable FHIR-based implementation specifications, including common informative attributes,” Shanbhag and Wong said. “We believe these attributes will provide agencies with more context regarding the relative maturity and adaptability of the implementation specifications.
“The draft action plan also identifies early FHIR capabilities that are not yet fully mature, and where federal involvement is ongoing or actively being considered,” they added. “This will help us track progress over time, as new implementation specifications are developed to meet identified agency needs.”
According to ASTP, the draft action plan is intended to provide the public with clarity, consistency, and predictability regarding the standards and implementation specifications being considered by federal agencies. Those managing government programs with clinical health IT interoperability components are encouraged to first review the draft action plan to better inform their goals.
Comments received by midnight ET on Monday, Nov. 25, will be considered for the final version of the action plan. Comments will be accepted throughout the year thereafter, the agency says, with periodic changes based on stakeholder feedback and other changes in the health IT standards environment.
Mike Miliard is Editor-in-Chief of Healthcare IT News
Email the author: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS.