HTI-2 Proposed Rule Includes New Certification Criteria for Payer and Public Health IT

The HTI-2 proposed rule is designed to further advance interoperability and boost nationwide information sharing among patients, providers, payers and public health authorities. It aims to do that with two new sets of criteria under the ONC Health IT Certification Program, among other provisions.The new proposed certification rules are focused on interoperability between providers and public health agencies and payers, respectively.Both sets of criteria maintain a big focus on standards-based APIs to enable more streamlined end-to-end interoperability between data exchange partners.The health IT for public health-oriented certification criteria were developed in tandem with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support its ongoing Data Modernization Initiative.