Communications

(Oct. 30, 2026) – On Oct. 28, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued a final rule on health data, technology and interoperability. The final rule focuses on deregulatory actions identified in HHS regulations regarding health information technology standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria, as well as certification programs for health information technology. HHS reduced the scope of the certification criteria for decision support interventions to remove artificial intelligence requirements. Some requirements take effect immediately (Oct. 28) and others take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. Proposals to remove privacy and security certification criteria and information blocking were not finalized.
--Sally Othmer