ONC Releases Federal Health IT Strategic Plan Through 2025

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published its final 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan that outlines federal health IT goals and objectives, with a focus on individuals’ access to their electronic health information.

The plan was developed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), the health IT arm of the federal government, in collaboration with more than 25 federal organizations and informed by nearly 100 public comments. It has been updated in accordance with the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act; ONC issued the final 2015-2020 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan in 2015.

The plan specifically defines a set of goals, objectives, and strategies the federal government will pursue to support the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information. The strategy focuses on four goals:

 • Promote health and wellness;

 • Enhance the delivery and experience of care;

 • Build a secure, data-driven ecosystem to accelerate research and innovation; and

 • Connect healthcare and health data through an interoperable health it infrastructure.

The key principles outlined include:

•  Putting individuals first by focusing on person-centered care,

•  Focusing on value by promoting and pursuing activities that improve health and care quality,

•  Building a culture of secure access to health information,

•  Putting research into action,

•  Encouraging innovation and competition, and

•  Being a responsible steward by developing health IT policies through open, transparent, and accountable processes.

Earlier this year, Healthcare Innovation reviewed several stakeholders’ comments on the draft version of the government’s strategic plan, and while most organizations found a lot to praise about ONC’s approach, commenters stressed the need for better patient matching and consent for data sharing, EHR onboarding for critical providers left out of Meaningful Use, and improved provider-to-provider data exchange.

However, in the final version of the plan, it doesn’t appear that the government drilled down to the level of detail that some commenters had asked for. For example, many stakeholders recommended that ONC advance patient matching to ensure safe and high-quality care, with some requesting that ONC support research to identify effective matching methodologies and implement national standards. In the final plan, however, the document just broadly states that efforts should be continued “to establish identity solutions within and across data systems that improve patient matching.”

According to ONC, the federal agencies that collaborated on the plan regulate, purchase, develop, and use health IT to help deliver care and improve patient health. They fund and contribute to health IT research, development, and deployment at the local, tribal, state, and national level, said federal health officials. Federal agencies also facilitate coordination across the public and private sectors to align standards, promote innovation and competition, and share best practices. Because of those activities, the plan can serve as a roadmap for these initiatives and activities, and as a catalyst for complementary activities in the private sector, they added.

“The new federal health IT strategic plan continues the momentum created by the 21st Century Cures Act and reflects the federal government’s commitment to making patients’ electronic health information accessible on their smartphones,” Don Rucker, M.D, National Coordinator for Health IT, said in a statement. “Thank you to everyone who commented on the draft plan, your input helped us shape a final version that lays out coordinated actions across the federal government.”