Federal Health IT Plan Aims to Enhance Data Sharing and Interoperability

Imagine a healthcare system where technology is seamlessly integrated to improve outcomes and empower individuals, ensuring that everyone has secure access to their health information.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released its 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, addressing the evolution of health IT, aiming to improve healthcare experiences, enhance care delivery, and promote health equity through the strategic implementation of technology.

Building on advancements in electronic health information (EHI) access and exchange, the plan prioritizes secure and efficient data sharing across the healthcare ecosystem. It emphasizes patient empowerment, providing individuals with the digital tools and resources necessary to actively manage their own health and wellness. This focus on patient-centered care underscores the plan’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery and experience.

The plan outlines four key goals:

1. Promote Health and Wellness: By empowering individuals with digital tools and resources, the plan aims to promote initiative-taking health management and support data-driven decision-making. This goal emphasizes health equity and seeks to address disparities in healthcare access and outcomes.
2. Enhance the Delivery and Experience of Care: This goal focuses on improving care coordination, promoting patient-centered care, and leveraging technology to streamline healthcare service delivery. By encouraging the use of innovative technologies, the plan aims to enhance efficiency and improve patient experiences.
3. Accelerate Research and Innovation: Recognizing the importance of ongoing innovation in health IT, the plan seeks to foster a supportive environment for research and development. This includes promoting the development of innovative technologies and supporting the integration of these advancements into the healthcare system.
4. Connect the Health System With Health Data: To facilitate informed decision-making and improve health, the plan prioritizes secure and appropriate data sharing across the healthcare system. This includes supporting public health surveillance and promoting the use of data-driven insights to inform healthcare policy and practice.

Consumer awareness about healthcare is evident in the PYMNTS Intelligence landmark report,  “How the World Does Digital.” The report shows significant engagement among consumers in “be well” activities. According to the report, consumers engage in the following digital activities: wearable technology (26.6%), (virtual therapy (25.4%), telemedicine (25.4%), health-related media (12.7%), mental health or relaxation app (12.6%), tracking health data (8.6%) and access health data (8.6%).

Innovations in healthcare are harnessing the power of connected devices and generative artificial intelligence (AI). These advancements promise to reduce care delivery costs, eliminate provider friction and streamline healthcare payments.

Another PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise of Health-Tracking Technology,” published in collaboration with CareCredit, revealed an increase in the use of health-monitoring websites or apps, as well as in the adoption of at least one health-monitoring technology or wearable device.

The report underscores the rising adoption of health-monitoring technologies, particularly among younger generations. Refining existing AI models with data from personal health devices enhances the accessibility of these innovations. But ethical concerns about privacy and bias remain, as 60% of adults expressed discomfort with AI-driven healthcare decisions.

Proponents of the technology say AI-assisted diagnostics can lead to quicker, more accurate treatments, improving patient care and outcomes. For patients grappling with complex health payment systems and providers overwhelmed by administrative tasks, there are opportunities for AI to make a meaningful impact.

Keith E. Campbell, M.D., Ph.D., program director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Systematic Harmonization and Interoperability Enhancement for Laboratory Data (SHIELD) program said in a press release the quality and safety of the analytics and recommendations provided by AI and other data-driven technologies depends on high-quality data.

“The plan represents an important commitment to improving both the access to and the quality of the health care data which are the foundation for developing safe and high-quality AI technologies,” Campbell said.