The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) today announced the launch of the Synthetic Health Data Challenge (Challenge).

ONC announced a series of investments to help increase data sharing between health information exchanges (HIEs) and immunization information systems. Nearly $20 million in funds will be awarded from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to support the nation’s vaccination efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, ONC released the Draft United States Core Data for Interoperability Version 2 (Draft USCDI v2). The Draft USCDI v2 is the result of wide-ranging public input into the elements that should be included to enhance the interoperability of health data for patients, providers, and other users. ONC also released the Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) Approved Standards for 2020.

ONC released the ONC Standards Bulletin, a new communication tool to periodically update the health care industry about ONC health IT standards and policy initiatives. 

The Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) recently approved a report and set of recommendations developed by the Intersection of Clinical and Administrative Data (ICAD) Task Force.