In his $4.1 trillion budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year, President Barack Obama seeks $82 million for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, a $22 million increase from FY 2016.
The proposed funds will be directed to encouraging market transparency and competition, improving EHR usability and optimizing health IT, according to the president's budget brief.
Among those general goals include advancing ONC's Federal Health IT Strategic Plan and the Interoperability Roadmap, as well as evaluating the Medicare Access and Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act as the new home of meaningful use initiatives. Additionally, the agency plans to expand efforts to standardize the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
The budget also includes four legislative proposals: establishing health IT governance certification, prohibiting information blocking, requiring health IT transparency and establishing a safety collaborative to encourage reporting of health IT-related safety events.
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