Health Information Compliance Alert

Published on Mon Feb 07, 2022 PDF

The feds aim to help healthcare providers cut down on their administrative duties and give more time to their patients — and they want your opinion on improving health IT, too.

Details: The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced a request for information (RFI) focused on “electronic prior authorization standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria that could be adopted within the ONC Health IT Certification Program,” a Jan. 21 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) release notes. ONC hopes to use data garnered from the RFI to impact future IT rules; decrease burdens for patients, providers, and payers; and automate prior authorization.

“Supporting the needs of clinicians and improving patient care are key priorities for ONC,” said Elise Sweeney Anthony, executive director, Office of Policy in the release.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is also interested in the RFI findings. “We support efforts that can serve to advance electronic prior authorization for patients, providers, and payers. We look forward to reviewing the input received on this RFI and to exploring opportunities for alignment between future ONC policymaking and ongoing CMS initiatives on this critical topic,” said CMS Office of Burden Reduction and Health Informatics Director Mary Greene, MD, in the release.

Review the RFI and submit comments through March 25 at 5 p.m. EST in the Federal Register at www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/24/2022-01309/request-for-information-electronic-prior-authorization-standards-implementation-specifications-and.