Your Voice Matters: Upcoming Public Comment Periods on US Health IT Standards

The U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published two policy documents that will be of interest to the cancer surveillance community. Both have open public comment periods for 60 days after publication.

Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability (HTI-2) Proposed Rule

A draft of the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability (HTI-2) Proposed Rule is currently available here. Subscribe to be notified when it is published and when the public comment period is open. HTI-2 builds on HTI-1 and includes a requirement that certified EHRs must adopt version 4 of the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) by January 2028. It also includes key provisions for public health data exchange, including an update for Electronic Health Record Systems (EHRs) to use the HL7 FHIR Central Cancer Registry Reporting Content Implementation Guide 1.0.0 and pathology reporting use by January 2028. Use of standard data exchange formats opens up the possibility of central cancer registries eventually receiving structured data directly from healthcare systems. A webinar was presented on July 30, 2024, to specifically cover the public health provisions. View the informational webinar recordings on the HTI main page.

USCDI+ Cancer Registry Data Element List

In addition, ONC recently published the USCDI+ Cancer Registry data element list for public comment. An informational webinar was held on July 23, 2024, to describe the development of the data element list and how to respond during the public comment period. This effort was described in a previous Narrative article and was a collaboration between ONC and many cancer surveillance partners, including NAACCR. The selection of data elements was based on those necessary for early incidence reporting, to meet the demands of timelier reporting. The publication of this list is just the first step in defining cancer surveillance standards for EHRs. The data items are viewable on the USCDI+ site. To make comments on the items, you will need to create an account. An informational webinar will be held on August 29, 2024, at 2:00 pm ET. Subscribe for updates at the links below.

The High-Level Strategic Group Standards Alignment Task Force is reviewing the USCDI+ Cancer Registry data items. Feedback will be shared with the High-Level Strategic Group. NAACCR will share any draft talking points with the members when available. In the meantime, you are encouraged to review both initiatives and contribute your feedback!

If you have any questions or comments about these initiatives, please contact Karen Knight at [email protected].