Federal Health IT Systems in Patient Care: The 2024-2030 Strategic Plan

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) at the Department of Health and Human Services is seeking input from stakeholders on a proposed strategy for coordinating federal health information technology systems in patient care delivery. This draft plan, titled the 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, aims to improve access to health data, promote equity in healthcare, and enhance public health data infrastructure.

The strategic plan is centered on four main goals: promoting health and wellness, improving the delivery and experience of care, fostering research and innovation, and connecting the health system with health data. Micky Tripathi, the national coordinator for health information technology, highlighted the collaborative effort involving more than 25 federal agencies in developing this draft plan. The goal is to align and coordinate health IT initiatives across the federal government.

Tripathi emphasized the importance of access, exchange, and use of electronic health information (EHI) in achieving the missions of various federal agencies involved in healthcare delivery and health outcomes improvement. EHI refers to all forms of digital or electronic health-related information that can be stored or transmitted electronically. This includes clinical trial data, medical images, laboratory results, patient records, and more.

The public is invited to provide feedback on the draft strategic plan until May 28th. Feedback can be submitted through an online portal on the ONC website. The feedback will help shape the final version of the strategic plan which will guide future investments in federal health IT systems.