The moments we’ve all been ready for since 2016 are quick approaching: the 21st Century Cures Act infrastructure is coming into place in 2022! The Cures Act laid out a imaginative and prescient for a wealthy well being IT ecosystem of standards-based APIs and nationwide well being info networks to securely open up electronically accessible info to sufferers themselves and to well being care professionals supporting their care. As we’ve mentioned in earlier blogs, progress on nationwide community integration by way of TEFCA continues apace, and beginning on October 6, all actors coated by the knowledge blocking provisions of the Cures Act shall be required to make obtainable the complete scope of electronic health information to different approved events. On this weblog, we’re going to deal with the upcoming deadlines for availability of standards-based FHIR APIs.
There was great business adoption of FHIR, so it could be stunning to many who this development has occurred even though regulatory necessities for licensed know-how builders to deploy normal FHIR APIs have nonetheless not absolutely gone into impact. That modifications this 12 months, nonetheless, as a result of the ONC Cures Act Remaining Rule requires that licensed well being IT builders replace and supply their prospects with FHIR-based application programming interfaces, also called licensed API know-how, by December 31, 2022.
We’ve been intently monitoring licensed well being IT builders’ progress in updating their know-how to be licensed to the Cures Update criteria, specifically, §170.315(g)(10) Standardized API for patient and population services. As of August 1, roughly 5 p.c of licensed well being IT builders have up to date their know-how to licensed API know-how. Nevertheless, these 5 p.c assist roughly 66 p.c and 77 p.c of the in-patient and ambulatory customers with their Well being IT Modules nationwide, respectively.
Determine 1 Information Supply: Licensed Well being IT Product Checklist (CHPL). Percentages signify the licensed well being IT modules (i.e., product variations) compliant to a 2015 Version Cures Replace criterion up to now as a proportion of the general variety of modules required to be compliant to that criterion (n) by December 31, 2022. Notice the CHPL knowledge relies on at present lively licensed well being IT modules required to replace.
Determine 2 Information Supply: Licensed Well being IT Product Checklist (CHPL); Medicare Selling Interoperability Program. Percentages signify the proportion of the hospital and clinician consumer base with an authorized API product whose API developer has an authorized API product compliant to the (g)(10) criterion. Notice the CHPL knowledge relies on at present lively licensed well being IT modules required to replace, and the Medicare knowledge displays 2019 program reporting.
Whereas many licensed well being IT builders have but to certify their API know-how to the brand new FHIR standards, these with giant user-bases have already got, so it’s doubtless that these customers shall be supplied with up to date know-how effectively earlier than the December 31, 2022 deadline. Additional, the 2022 Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) now contains the HL7® FHIR® US Core Implementation Guides 4.0.0 and 5.0.1, which some well being IT builders had been ready for, and we anticipate that many well being IT builders will now transfer ahead to assist these newer implementation specs to certify to the FHIR-based API criterion.
Along with technical specs, Certification Program necessities additionally embody “Situations and Upkeep of Certification” for APIs, which set necessities for licensed well being IT builders in areas corresponding to transparency, charges, and market competitors. Because of this as a clinician or well being care supplier you should have:
A nationwide ecosystem of normal FHIR APIs will allow extra innovation and options developed by business and scale back one-off interfaces, leading to decrease interoperability prices sooner or later. Eligible hospitals and Essential Entry Hospitals taking part within the Medicare Selling Interoperability program, and eligible clinicians taking part within the Selling Interoperability efficiency class of the Advantage-Primarily based Incentive program, shall be required to make use of licensed know-how up to date with the 2015 Cures Replace (together with FHIR APIs) for efficiency durations beginning in 2023, as famous within the just lately launched
As famous earlier, licensed well being IT builders are required to replace and make obtainable to their prospects normal FHIR APIs by the top of 2022. If you happen to use an authorized EHR and don’t but have a regular FHIR API obtainable, we encourage you to contact your vendor to study extra about their plans to give you an authorized API by the top of 2022 and allow you to completely take part in our 21st century digital healthcare future.
For extra info and assets on the advantages of the 2015 Version Cures Replace, take a look at a just lately revealed Cures Update fact sheet. We encourage all stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the small print supplied on this truth sheet, and we welcome questions by the ONC Health IT Feedback and Inquiry Portal.
