Researchers, developers, and clinicians have new tools to help them access high-quality electronic health record (EHR) data more effectively. A 2020 ONC Leading Edge Acceleration Project (LEAP) in Health IT awardee, MedStar Health Research Institute, in collaboration with the Georgetown University Medical Center and HealthLab, developed two new data tools as part of MedStar’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources® (FHIR) Factories: An Evolving Digital Architecture to Scale Health Research project. The project team developed FHIR Factories, which are enhanced data platforms (or data factories) that provide researchers the ability to easily access data in standardized formats and to conduct at-scale extraction and analysis. These data factories use FHIR to transform data into actionable knowledge that is accessible via application programming interfaces (APIs) and bring that actionable knowledge to the frontlines of clinical care.

Michael Morrison serves as the procurement branch chief in ONC’s procurement and grants division (PGD). He is responsible for a wide range of key functions associated with the acquisition of goods and services to carry out ONC’s responsibilities. As a senior staff member in ONC’s office of the chief operation officer (OCOO), he manages a highly trained and experienced staff. Together they navigate the complex, fast paced maze of ONC’s procurements.

While the number of organizations offering patient portal access reached near ubiquity a few years after meaningful use, the number of patients actually logging into the tool was low. In April 2019, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) reported that patient portal offerings were reaching nearly 90 percent, but patient registration lagged to around 25 percent. Those numbers have been flipped upside-down. In October 2023, ONC released stats showing that 57 percent of patients were offered and accessed their medical records via the patient portal in the previous year, showing a sharp uptick in patient engagement.

According to the HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) there has been a significant increase in the number of patients who are accessing their medical records through patient portals or smartphone apps. Providing patients with easy access to their electronic health records empowers them to make informed decisions about their health and track their progress toward health-related goals, which translates into better patient outcomes. According to the ONC, other benefits include decreased healthcare costs and stronger patient-physician relationships.

This year the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) advanced two key frameworks: the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) and expanded the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI). Both are providing a model for the health IT community to develop common agreements and operating structures to share data especially for electronic health records.