21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program Proposed Rule Summary

On March 4, 2019, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would implement certain provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act. The provisions for implementation are concerned with conditions and maintenance of certification requirements for health information technology (health IT) developers under the ONC Health IT Certification Program; facilitating access by patients to their electronic health information (e.g., through application programming interfaces); voluntary certification of health IT for use in the care of children; and information blocking. Also proposed are modifications to the 2015 Edition Health Information Technology certification criteria and to other aspects of the Program, intended to advance interoperability, enhance health IT certification, and reduce burden and costs. The deadline for submission of comments is Monday, May 3, 2019.