HITAC Meeting Explores Health IT, Price Transparency, and Data Liquidity. The Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) met on May 7 with panels on modernizing administrative workflows with technology and price transparency, data liquidity, and consumer choice. Presenters discussing administrative workflows referenced prior authorization as an area of focus for updated technology. The organizations included Valer, Itiliti Health, University of Pennsylvania, and Highmark Health. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), b.well Connected, ClearHealthCosts, and Healthcare Practice spoke about price transparency and data liquidity. A transcript and recording of the meeting will be available on the HITAC website.
CMS Announces Addition of Electronic Prior Authorization Use Case in Health Tech Ecosystem. CMS announced the addition of a use case to the Health Tech Ecosystem on electronic prior authorization. This new initiative will include health systems, hospitals, physician practices, electronic health record vendors, and digital health developers with the goal of creating an end-to-end electronic prior authorization process. The initiative will align with the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule mandates, while addressing workflow gaps and technical challenges. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz stated, “this ecosystem-wide coordination is what separates this effort from previous attempts at prior authorization reform.” Additional information is available on the Electronic Prior Authorization webpage.
ONC Accepting Comments on SVAP Standards. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is accepting comments on the 2026 Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP) cycle until June 15, 2026. The voluntary SVAP enables health information technology (IT) developers the ability to incorporate newer versions of Secretary-adopted standards and implementation specifications, as part of the “Real World Testing” Condition and Maintenance of Certification requirement of the 21st Century Cures Act. The process allows for identification of newer versions of adopted standards and implementation specifications for approval by the National Coordinator. The latest information on the approved standards for use is available on the ONC Health IT Certification Program SVAP page.
Bipartisan House Bill Proposes Data-Driven Performance Payment System. U.S. Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (R-IA) and Herb Conaway Jr., M.D. (D-NJ) introduced the Medicare Physician Data-Driven Performance Payment System Act legislation that seeks to modernize Medicare’s physician payment system, reduce burdens on providers, and improve care for patients. The bill would replace the current Merit-based Incentive Payment System with the Data-Driven Performance Payment System that is designed to improve transparency, clinical relevance, and fairness while reducing unnecessary administrative burden. Included in the bill are reforms to: (i) Reduce excessive penalties; (ii) Reinvest funds into quality improvement and support for under-resourced practices; (iii) Provide physicians with near real time quarterly performance feedback; (iv) Increase transparency in cost attribution to support better clinical decision-making; and (v) Protect physicians from penalties when sufficient performance data is not provided.
FDA Launches READI-Home Innovation Challenge. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched the Reducing Readmissions through Device Innovation for the Home (READI-Home) Innovation Challenge, which aims to accelerate patient access to medical device technologies and reduce hospital readmissions. The challenge is part of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health’s Home as a Health Care Hub Initiative. Innovators are invited to participate in the Innovation Challenge by providing proposed solutions for medical device technologies that can be used in the home setting to support patients and caregivers after an acute hospital stay and may help prevent avoidable readmissions.
The Submission period runs from April 7 to September 30 with the submission of summaries of candidate devices. The Selection period will begin on October 1 and end on December 4, and the FDA anticipates selecting up to nine devices to move on to the next phase. The Interaction Phase will begin on December 5 during which the selected participants will receive feedback from the FDA to help refine device design and testing for home use indications.
CMS and HL7 Announce 7th Annual CMS HL7 FHIR Connectathon. CMS and Health Level Seven (HL7) announced their 7th Annual CMS HL7 FHIR Connectathon being held July 14-16. The virtual event includes three days of hands-on testing, shared learning, and collaboration focused on testing emerging Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources® (FHIR®) Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and implementation guides in a live environment. Use cases that will be discussed include Prior Authorization, Patient Access APIs, and Payer-to-Payer Interoperability Workflows. Testing will occur for requirements in the CMS Interoperability Rules and ONC Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (HTI) Rules. The registration deadline is June 30.
CISA and Partners Release Guidance on Adopting Agentic AI Services. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the National Security Agency and international partners, released joint guidance titled “Careful Adoption of Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) Services.” Agentic AI systems are increasingly being integrated into critical systems, automating complex tasks, and supporting operational goals, introducing new cybersecurity risks. The guidance provides actionable recommendations to help organizations anticipate, assess, and mitigate agentic AI-specific risks, including implementing layered defense strategies and conducting comprehensive threat modeling.
CISA Launches CI Fortify to Strengthen Critical Infrastructure. CISA launched CI Fortify: Strengthening Resilience Across Critical Infrastructure, a nationwide initiative to support organizations’ critical infrastructure (CI) against increasing cyber threats. With CI as the frequent target by cyber threat actors, CI Fortify assists organizations in planning for these likely events and how to operate through them. CI Fortify focuses on the capabilities of isolating systems from third-party dependencies and restoring vital compromised systems while isolated. The CI Fortify webpage is the central resource for CI Fortify guidance and updates.