The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Annual Meeting was held on December 4-5, 2024. Stay tuned for the plenary recordings and slides from the breakout sessions to post in the coming weeks.
Session
Keynote and Morning Plenary: TEFCA – Year One in the Books and Looking to the Future
9:00–9:05 am
Welcome
- Lisa Lewis Person
Remarks: The Federal Government is Committed to TEFCA
- Shereef Elnahal, MD, MBA
- Jennifer Layden
- Mitchell Thornbrugh
Panel: Industry Perspectives on TEFCA: Policy and Implementation
- Matthew Eisenberg
- Michelle Meigs
- Cait Riccobono
- Michael Westover
- Mariann Yeager
Lunch
Breakout Sessions 1
Perspectives on Behavioral and Physical Health Care Data Integration to Improve Patient Care
Behavioral health, encompassing mental health and substance use disorders, is a critical component of overall health and well-being. Speakers will discuss ASTP’s work on the Behavioral Health IT Initiative, including the draft United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI)+ Behavioral Health dataset (also referred to as USCDI+BH), two clinical decision support tools following the CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, and how data collected by behavioral health and physical health providers can be exchanged to inform care.
- Llew Brown
- Lydia N. Drumright
- Vivian Horn
- Dr. Cara Litvin
- Dr. Bill Lober
- Wesley Sargent
- Lori Haberman
- Alison Kemp
Break
Afternoon Plenary: Collaboration, Harmonization, and Standardization: How USCDI+ is Raising the Floor for Interoperable Data Use
Through the USCDI+ initiative, ASTP collaborates with federal partners seeking to establish, harmonize, and advance the use of interoperable datasets that extend beyond the core data in the USCDI in order to meet agency-specific programmatic requirements. Since its launch in 2022, USCDI+ has begun to address some of the most pressing data harmonization and interoperability issues across facing the healthcare landscape. At this session, hear from federal agencies engaged in USCDI+ and how this model is helping to advance key HHS priorities at CMS, CDC, NIH, and HRSA.
- Joel Andress
- Braedyn Kromer
- Desiree Mustaquim
- Umit Topaloglu
- Matthew Rahn
Break
Breakout Sessions 2
A Decade of Data Examined: The Evolution of Health IT in the United States
This panel will explore ASTP's ongoing efforts to measure and enhance health information exchange over the years. As the culmination of the 'Decade of Data' blog series, the session will reflect on the progress and future of key areas including interoperability, patient access, public health reporting, and electronic prescribing.
Download Slides [PDF - 930 KB]
- Wesley Barker
- Wei Chang
- Jordan Everson
- Catherine Strawley
- Yael Harris
Empowering Patients: Enhancing Patient Access and Navigation in Cancer Care
Earlier this year, the White House reaffirmed its commitment to patient access in cancer care as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, which has a goal of improving the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer. Ensuring patients and families have easy access to the information and tools they need to manage their health and care is critical to facilitating navigation of a recent cancer diagnosis, cancer survivorship, or end of life care. In this session, you will hear from researchers, patient advocates, and members of CancerX—a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership aimed at developing innovative approaches to reduce the burden of cancer—to showcase the latest research on patient-reported experiences and preferences related to access and use of their electronic health information. Speakers will also share their own lived experiences navigating cancer care and discuss ongoing efforts to improve patient access and simplify patient navigation, which is critical to empowering patients and caregivers to make informed decisions about their health and care.
Download Slides [PDF - 1375 KB]
- Grace Cordovano
- Rochelle Prosser
- Dr. Chelsea Richwine
- Bryan Steitz
- Stephen Konya
Session
Morning Plenaries
What in the GPT? Does generative AI Have a Place in Health Care Delivery?
What in the GPT? Does generative AI have a place in health care delivery? AI-based technologies have the potential to accelerate innovation, increase market competition, ameliorate health inequities, reduce clinician burn-out, and improve care and the care experience for patients. In recent years, the emergence of generative AI has accelerated interest in this technology due to its ease of access and range of applications. Join health and technology leaders and they discuss how generative AI is impacting healthcare and how we can separate hype from reality.
- Brian Anderson
- Thomas Osborne
- Jennifer Stoll
- Tricia Lee Rolle
Meeting the Mission with AI: How Federal Partners are Using AI to Advance Health and Human Services
In this conversation with HHS and VA leadership, hear how federal partners are harnessing AI use cases to meet their unique missions – how it's going and what’s next for the application of AI in health and human services.
- Kevin Duvall
- Jennifer Layden
- Connie Leonard
- Steve Posnack
- Kaeli Yuen
Lunch
Breakout Sessions 3
Quality In, Quality Out: Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Data Quality
Standards for sharing data as well as governance and accountability for data quality are needed. This session will include an overview of the current state of data quality in healthcare, and discuss promising approaches, challenges, and opportunities for government and industry efforts to improve data quality.
Download Slides [PDF - 1965 KB]
- Niall Brennan
- Keith Campbell
- Didi Davis
- Charlie Harp
- Ilana Yurkiewicz
- Ryan Howells
SAFER Guides: 2024 Update
In this ASTP Annual Meeting session, audience members will get a comprehensive overview of the 2024 release of the Safety Assurance For EHR Resilience (SAFER) Guides, the expanded process to update and revise them, and a look at new capabilities to incorporate the health IT safety recommendations of the Guides into software, websites, and interactive media. The SAFER Guides are an authoritative set of recommendations in the form of multiple, stand-alone, subject-oriented chapters to guide the EHR community with best practice recommendations to improve the safety and safe use of EHRs. The Guides were first released in 2014, and updated in 2017 and 2024.
Download Slides [PDF - 1549 KB]
- David Hunt
Tracking Impact: Family Medicine Physicians Experience with Interoperability
This session focuses on detailed information on family medicine physicians’ experience using interoperable health IT. This information provides a unique view into the current state of interoperability that can inform ASTP planning and policy, as well as a broader understanding of the industry. Federal partners will discuss how these results relate to their ongoing objectives, programs, and policies.
Download Slides [PDF - 1691 KB]
- Edwin Lomotan
- Alexandra Mugge
- Bob Phillips
Break
Breakout Sessions 4
Behind the Scenes at ASTP: How we Operate and Engage with YOU
Curious about the inner workings of ASTP’s Office of the Chief Operating Officer and how we engage with external partners? This breakout session offers an exclusive look behind the scenes at ASTP’s day-to-day operations. Join federal operations office senior leaders and division directors as they discuss the systems and processes that keep the office running smoothly. We’ll walk you through key areas such as grants and cooperative agreement processing, procurement, financial management, and legislative affairs. Whether you're an insider seeking a deeper understanding of operational mechanics or an external partner looking to enhance your engagement with us, this session is designed to equip you with valuable knowledge about the pivotal role we play in delivering outcomes. This session is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about ASTP’s operations and engagement strategies.
- Yvette Haynes
- Amy Meller
- Fatema Nasseh
- Nina Ooft
- Mikki Smith
- Chartese Torrence
- Seon Wilburg
- Lisa Lewis Person
Enhancing Laboratory Interoperability: Insights and a Path Forward
Congress requested the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) develop a report on laboratory data standards and propose possible solutions to further advance interoperability. This panel will cover insights from ASTP’s report, including the current state of laboratory standards adoption, driving factors of standards adoption, and a vision for the future.
- Ali Abbasi, MD
- Steve Posnack
- Dr. Abigail Viall
- Sara Armson
FAIR Data Principles - Sharing the Department's Journey
Join Chief Data Officers from HHS as they discuss their divisions’ journey towards implementing FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. In this session, you’ll gain insights into their journey from planning to implementation within their divisions to enhance the Department’s ability to find, access, and share data to better serve the public. Learn how their efforts are enabling the Department’s vision of whole person care delivery by connecting human services data. Engage directly with these data leaders who are shaping the future of health and human services data and driving innovation across the data landscape.
- Dr. Shu Hui Chen
- Susan Jenkins
- Jennifer Layden
- Allison Oelschlaeger
- Susy Postal
- Dr. Mahnaz Dean