ONC, CMS ease enforcement of Interoperability Final Rules in response to COVID-19 crisis

Don Rucker, MD National
Coordinator for Health
Information Technology (ONC)

PARCA eNews – April 21, 20220 – The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced today compliance flexibilities regarding the implementation of the interoperability final rules announced on March 9, 2020. 

The relaxation of enforcement was a policy decision made as a result of the COVID-19 emergency.

Imaging practices impacted by COVID-19

Photo credit – Diagnostic and Interventional
Cardiology

PARCA eNews – March 24, 2020 – Because cardiovascular disease is the comorbidity that carries the highest death rate in COVID-19 patients, at about 10.5 percent, the use of cardiac imaging, places cardiovascular imagers in the front lines of COVID-19 patient care.

As cases of acute cardiovascular disease and cardiac complications caused by COVID-19 rose dramatically in early March and April, all the major cardiovascular imaging societies issued COVID-19 guidelines and lists of considerations for how to continue imaging operations safely under the threat of viral contamination for the duration of containment efforts.