ASTP Head Keane Testifies at Senate HELP Committee on Health Data. Thomas Keane, MD, Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) and National Coordinator at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), testified at the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) on transforming health care through data. Senator Bill Cassidy’s, MD (R-LA), Chairman of the Committee, opening comments focused on the need for expedient access to health information by providers to better care for patients and raised concerns with information blocking. Dr. Keane delivered an opening statement on his agency’s work to improve data access, data exchange, and use of data to improve care outcomes and their priority for data liquidity. He took questions from the Committee members discussing prior authorization, use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in clinical care, interoperability, public health data reporting, and collaboration work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Use of AI. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness held a hearing titled “Less Hype, More Help: AI That Improves Safety, Productivity, and Care.” The hearing examined how AI can improve Americans’ quality of life, addressing health care, along with other industries and uses. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC), Chairman of the Subcommittee, commented that the hearing allowed members to evaluate some of the uses of AI to solve everyday problems. Witnesses for the hearing were Demetri Giannikopoulos, Chief Innovation Officer, Rad AI; Brittany Ng, Vice President, Siemens Digital Industries Software; Damion Shelton, Co-Founder and Chairman, Agility Robotics; and Mark Muro, Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.
FDA Publishes Final Rule on Revised NDC Format. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the Revising the National Drug Code Format and Drug Label Barcode Requirements final rule that adopts a uniform, 12-digit format for the National Drug Code (NDC). The NDC uniquely identifies drugs marketed in the U.S. and is currently a 10-digit number that can be in several different formats. The rule takes effect on March 7, 2033, and at that time, the FDA will begin assigning new 12-digit NDCs and converting all previously assigned 10-digit NDCs to 12-digits. This rule affects only FDA-assigned NDCs and does not make any changes to NDC formats that are used for other purposes unrelated to FDA (e.g., the 11-digit format used for reimbursement). The seven-year period before the rule takes effect is intended to provide companies with sufficient time to update their systems for the 12-digit format.
ASPR Releases New RISC 2.0 Cyber Module. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) division released a new cybersecurity module within its Risk Identification and Site Criticality (RISC) 2.0 Toolkit. The RISC 2.0 Toolkit is a free, web-based platform with a cybersecurity module that can be used by public and private organizations for emergency preparedness planning, risk management activities, and resource investments. Being integrated into the existing RISC 2.0 platform, the module allows users to analyze cyber risks along with other vulnerabilities in one tool.
ASTP/ONC Releases 2026 ISA Reference Edition. ASTP/ONC released the 2026 Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) Reference Edition, reflecting numerous changes made across the ISA in 2025. The ISA identifies interoperability standards and implementation specifications to address specific interoperability needs for clinical, public health, research, and administrative purposes. The development process coordinates the identification, assessment, and public awareness of the interoperability standards and implementation specifications. Stakeholders are encouraged to implement and use the standards and implementation specifications identified in the ISA to meet their interoperability needs, as well as provide feedback on pilot testing and industry experience with standards and implementation specifications identified as “emerging” in the ISA. Recent ISA Updates provides additional information on the updates from previous editions.
CMS Publishes QPP Small Practices Newsletter March Edition. CMS published the March edition of its Quality Payment Program (QPP) Small Practices Newsletter. The newsletter is a monthly resource that provides small practices with program updates, upcoming QPP milestones, and resources to support their continued participation in QPP, including the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Topics in the newsletter include a reminder of the 2025 QPP data submission closing date of March 31, information on submitting and reviewing the 2025 MIPS data, submission resources in the QPP Resource Library, a reminder to check final 2025 and preliminary 2026 MIPS eligibility status, and additional resources for small practices. Sign up here to receive the monthly newsletter.
ASTP/ONC Announces Planned Updates to Standardized API Test Kit. The ONC Certification (g)(10) Standardized API Test Kit on inferno.healthit.gov is now updated to reflect current certification requirements. Testers are no longer able to select the expired implementation guide (IG) versions of US Core 3.1.1/U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) v1, US Core 4.0.0/USCDI v1, and SMART App Launch 1.0.0. These Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources® IG versions expired on January 1, 2026, as options for Health Information Technology Modules. As a part of the March update, the ONC Certification - § 170.315(g)(10) Standardized API Test Kit on inferno.healthit.gov will be updated to remove those expired IG versions as options for testers to select.
CMS Issues Reminder and Resources for April 1 HPT Enforcement. CMS issued a reminder and resources for the April 1 enforcement date for the new and updated Hospital Price Transparency (HPT) requirements finalized in the Calendar Year 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System final rule. January 1, 2026, was the effective date of the revised requirements, including removing of the estimated allowed amount, disclosing the median, 10th, and 90th percentile allowed amounts and the count of allowed amounts, completing the attestation requirement, and adding organizational National Provider Identifiers in the machine-readable files. CMS, however, delayed enforcement until April 1, 2026, to give hospitals time to update their systems and review, validate, and post their files. Resources available from CMS about the requirements include an updated HPT fact sheet, CY 2026 OPPS and ASC Final Rule – HPT Policy Changes fact sheet, HPT: Reviewing the CY 2026 OPPS and ASC Payment System Final Rule (PDF) webinar slides, and HPT FAQs (PDF).