Top News
Requesting AMIA Membership Feedback on Public Comment Letter for 2028 Standard Occupational Classification Codes
The Office of Management and Budget announced a public comment opportunity for possible revisions of the 2028 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Codes. After consultation with the U.S. Department of Labor, AMIA is proposing the addition of clinical informatics to the latest SOC codes. AMIA has worked tirelessly with the help from so many of you for the inclusion of clinical informatics in the SOC codes for over a decade.
Now, AMIA needs support from all of you to review the latest draft comment letter and provide feedback and relevant documents/references that would support the case for including clinical informatics. This is a high priority for the organization and your feedback is crucial because we only get one attempt at this each decade. Links to the draft comment letter and the form to submit your responses are below. AMIA Public Policy Staff need your recommendations by Thursday, July 18. Thank you for your support in this great endeavor.
Read the Draft Comment Letter.
Submit feedback to the AMIA Draft Comment Letter.
After AMIA’s comments are finalized, please look out for an opportunity for external organizations to endorse. Many organizations have been invested in this topic over the years and we could not have come this far without that partnership.
Public comments are due by Monday, August 12.
Watch the AMIA Mid-Year Public Policy Update Webinar Recording
Now available on the AMIA website, AMIA’s Public Policy staff mid-year update webinar recording is available to view. This is a presentation and discussion on policy projects, tactics, and ideas to advance Informatics in 2024. In Fall 2023, AMIA approved the four Public Policy North Stars to guide AMIA’s policy pursuits through 2029. Much has been accomplished in the first six months since implementation, including AMIA’s first virtual Hill Day, and there are exciting things to come. The webinar recording is an opportunity to learn how AMIA policy staff advocates for Informatics and how you as an AMIA member can get involved.
The AMIA Public Policy Staff are always looking for members interested in sharing their expertise and wanting an opportunity to work with us on public comment opportunities. Feel free to fill out the Public Comment Interest Form to participate.
Regulatory
ONC Releases HTI-2 Proposed Rule for Public Comment
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability (HTI-2) Proposed Rule on July 10. Key proposals include requiring adoption of USCDI v4 by January 1, 2028, revisions to certain information blocking regulations, reducing documentation burden for e-prior authentication, improving bulk data enhancement performance, and adopting newer versions of “minimum standards” code sets. HTI-2 is available for public comment for 60 days.
You can find more information on HTI-2, including the entire proposed rule text, various fact sheets, measurement spec sheets, and how to submit comments on the HTI-2 dedicated page in the ONC website.
ONC will be hosting an HTI-2 Proposed Rule Overview Information Sessionon Wednesday July 17 at 2 p.m. ET. Register for the information session.
ICYMI
National Institutes of Health RFI Draft Public Access Policy
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published a Request for Information (RFI) on the NIH Draft Public Access Policy. The Draft Policy is building on the feedback from the 2023 NIH Public Access Plan. AMIA did comment on the Plan last year and plan to comment on the RFI. One proposed enhancement would remove the 12-month embargo period for scholarly publications allowing access to both the article and its data sets sooner.
The public comment period ends Monday, August 19.
RFI Draft Public Access Policy.
Coalition for Health AI Responsible (CHAI) Health AI Framework Draft for Public Comment
On June 26, CHAI released a draft framework for health AI and open for public review and comment. The framework includes an Assurance Standards Guide and Assurance Reporting Checklists (ARC).
The main goal of the ARC is to promote five key areas for trustworthy AI: 1. Usefulness, Usability, and Efficacy; 2. Fairness, Equity, and Bias Management; 3. Safety; 4. Transparency and Intelligibility; and 5. Privacy and Security.
The ARC consists of four checkpoints: 1. Initial Planning Checkpoint, 2. Assurance Checkpoint 1: Readiness for Real-World, 3. Assurance Checkpoint 2: Real-World Impact and Full Deployment Readiness, and 4. Assurance Checkpoint 3: Large Scale and Longer Term Impacts.
Public comments are due Sunday, August 25.
Review the guide, checklists, and how to submit comments.
AMIA’s Washington Download is your source for health informatics policy news and information from around the Beltway, covering action from the Hill, the Administration, and important AMIA collaborators.