With today’s modern, consumer-focused innovations, many people have become used to on-demand mobile apps that allow everything from purchasing automobiles, watching movies to ordering groceries for delivery.

However, in the health IT arena, the ability to securely share patient data in an on-demand fashion is still challenged due to information blocking, and data being locked in proprietary systems.  

Dr. Donald Rucker, the former National Coordinator for Health IT at the ONC, recently sat down for a Healthcare Dive interview, where he reflected on his tenure at the HHS agency, and what the future holds for health data exchange overall.

When asked about what he is most proud of accomplishing, he stated that opening up electronic medical records to individuals so patients have more control of their care rose to the top. He also talked about the challenges with public health reporting and how HIEs will play a major role in ONC Final Rule delivery.

In addition, Rucker discussed how Micky Tripathi, the new National Coordinator for Health IT under the Biden administration, will bring lots to the table when it comes to moving things forward quickly. 

Tripathi was recently featured in a Fierce Healthcare article, where he discussed how the new regulations will open up an app ecosystem that enables patients to engage with healthcare on their smartphones and through health apps. He also stated how data interoperability is already happening with information now flowing through networks.

In other ONC-related news, the agency recently made several key updates to the Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA), as well as launched its Synthetic Health Data Challenge, an effort to encourage the development of big data analytics tools using realistic – but not real – health record data.

With the ONC reigns fully taken over by Tripathi, we will continue to see more of a push for enhanced health data interoperability, where on-demand access to data will not only enhance patient engagement, but also the quality of care overall.

RosettaHealth can assist with any health information challenges you might have, book a free consultation with one of our interoperability experts.