CONNECTATHON

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development

Investigators

Abstract

The United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) is a standardized set of health data classes and constituent data elements for nationwide, interoperable health data exchange. Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) established an open process for advancing and adding data elements to the USCDI, which can then be approved by ONC for use in certified health IT through the Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP). In October 2021, ONC launched a new initiative called USCDI+, to support the identification and establishment of domain or program-specific datasets that will operate as extensions to the existing USCDI. USCDI+ is designed to support federal agencies who have needs beyond the core data in USCDI to support specific programs. Though initial work in USCDI+ is focused on quality measurement and public health, in partnership with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), preliminary efforts have surfaced shared priorities for the research community. The Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government issued on December 13, 2021 indicated that the Secretary of Health and Human Services “shall test methods to automate patient access to electronic prenatal, birth, and postpartum health records (including lab results, genetic tests, ultrasound images, and clinical notes) to improve patient experiences in maternity care, health outcomes, and equity.” ONC and NIH are collaborating on this project to drive the strategic and technical development and adoption of a data model under a new USCDI+ Maternal Health (MH) domain for broader systems interoperability. This IAA is funded by the funding of IMPROVE (Implementing a Maternal health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone).