ADA comments on proposed rule to further advance interoperability

Association supports exception to information blocking regulation, new prescription drug monitoring program e-prescribing standard

The ADA is asking the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to improve interoperability standards, which would ensure dentists can accurately report and code dental care.

The Proposed Rule on Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability includes several proposals, including new and revised standards and certification criteria, including public health reporting, in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s Health IT Certification Program; technology and standards updates; and requiring adoption of the U.S Core Data for Interoperability version 4 by Jan. 1, 2028. 

In an Oct. 3 letter addressed to Xavier Becerra, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the ADA encouraged updating the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability to version 5 instead of the proposed version 4 by Jan. 1, 2028. Version 5 includes the Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclatures in the Corrected Applicable Standard Reference for Procedures, ensuring that the only standard code set for dental procedures has parity with other standard terminology in the procedures data element.

“Delayed implementation will continue to impede national interoperability and health information software’s limited ability to accurately represent dental procedures will continue to have a direct impact on patients, providers and quality reporting,” the ADA said. 

The letter went on to comment on several proposals the ADA said could impact dental practices that use certified health information technology, including information blocking, electronic prescribing criteria, digital imaging and prior authorization. 

The ADA’s comments included supporting a new exception to information blocking regulations, supporting updated radiographic imaging criteria for the Office of the National Coordinator’s certification program and calling for incentivizing dental health information technology vendors to adopt new standards intended to automate and streamline prior authorizations through use of an application programming interface. The ADA also supports a new standard for electronic prescribing, where providers can enter prescription information into a computer device and transmit the prescription to pharmacies, that would make prescription drug monitoring programs more interoperable.