| HEALTH IT REACTS TO ONC PROPOSAL — Health tech advocates worry that a Biden administration proposal to enable data-sharing in a public health emergency would burden the industry, Ruth reports. Brett Meeks, executive director of the Health Innovation Alliance, says the ONC’s proposed rule is a big expansion. “For the last 15 years of that statute being on the books, they’ve only done [electronic health records]. So this is a big change,” he said. The proposal creates certifications for public health and payers to partake in standardized protocols for data-sharing between them. While ONC certifications are voluntary, Meeks thinks that language in the proposed rule indicates that other agencies might in the future require companies to get certified to receive federal dollars, whether through Medicare, the CDC, or HHS. “At that point, they become less voluntary and more mandatory,” he said. Meeks also pointed to a section ONC included on severability, saying it indicated that the agency thought someone might sue to strike down individual provisions of the rule. According to the section, an entire rule wouldn’t be affected if any of its provisions were to be struck down. AHIP, an insurer trade association, said it continues to review the proposed rule, including its certification standards for payers, noting that plans aren’t subject to ONC certification program requirements. The American Medical Association praised the rule for clarifying when a doctor can decline to share a patient’s reproductive health information. This comes after the Biden Administration finalized a rule earlier this year barring providers from sharing abortion-related records with state or law enforcement officials. EXAMINING CHRONIC ILLNESS IN WOMEN — The NIH must increase its research focus on chronic conditions in women, a report requested by the agency’s Office of Research on Women’s Health says. The report, published this week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, calls for the NIH to address what report authors say are underresearched areas. And it comes as the House considers a fiscal 2025 HHS budget that could restructure the NIH into fewer centers. House Republicans argue the move would make the NIH more efficient and mission-driven without reducing funding, while some House Democrats worry it would disrupt research. The current fiscal spending package would provide $100 billion for the ORWH, an increase from fiscal 2024. The House Appropriations Committee requests a specific focus on heart disease, lung cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The report recommends NIH focus research on: — Improving diagnostic tools, which can help avoid misdiagnosis as women often present different symptoms of diseases than men in some conditions, like heart disease — Understanding women-specific factors, such as how reproductive milestones, like one’s first period or menopause onset, can impact the development of chronic conditions — Understanding the biology of chronic conditions in women, like pelvic floor disorders or uterine fibroids — as well as how the environment and genetics play a role — Understanding why women are more likely than men to have multiple chronic illnesses at the same time, how those conditions impact quality of life for women, and how traumatic events may relate to chronic conditions — Learning how inequities and biases in health care contribute to diagnoses and treatment of chronic conditions in women
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