Agency Information Collection Request. 30-Day Public Comment Request

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In compliance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Health and Human Services, is publishing the following summary of a proposed collection for public comment.

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 170 (Thursday, September 3, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 170 (Thursday, September 3, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56656-56657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18060]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Document Identifier: OS-0955-0019]


Agency Information Collection Request. 30-Day Public Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Office of the 
Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Health and 
Human Services, is publishing the following summary of a proposed 
collection for public comment.

DATES: Comments on the ICR must be received on or before October 5, 
2026.

ADDRESSES: When commenting, please reference the document identifier/
OMB control number OS-0955-0019 and title of collection, ``National 
Survey of Health Information Exchange Organizations (HIO)''. You may 
send your comments electronically to Wesley Barker, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#780f1d0b141d01561a190a131d0a3810100b561f170e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="97e0f2e4fbf2eeb9f5f6e5fcf2e5d7ffffe4b9f0f8e1">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain copies of supporting 
material for the proposed collection(s) summarized in this notice, 
please include the document identifier OS-0955-0019 and title of 
collection ``National Survey of Health Information Exchange 
Organizations (HIO)'' for reference, and address inquiries to Wesley 
Barker, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a9deccdac5ccd087cbc8dbc2ccdbe9c1c1da87cec6df"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e293b2d323b27703c3f2c353b2c1e36362d70393128">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested persons are invited to send 
comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this 
collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) 
The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for 
the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of 
the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology to minimize the information collection burden.
    Title of the Collection: National Survey of Health Information 
Exchange Organizations (HIO).
    Type of Collection: Revision of a previously approved collection.
    OMB No. 0955-0019
    Abstract: Electronic health information exchange (HIE) was one of 
three goals specified by Congress in the 2009 Health Information 
Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to ensure that 
the $30 billion federal

[[Page 56657]]

investment in certified electronic health records (EHRs) resulted in 
higher-quality, lower-cost care. Subsequent legislation and regulations 
have continued to prioritize the sharing of data electronically across 
EHRs and other health information systems. Within the Department of 
Health and Human Services, the Office of the National Coordinator for 
Health IT (hereafter ONC) is responsible for coordinating across the 
federal government, industry, and the health care community to achieve 
nationwide interoperability of electronic health information exchange. 
Health information exchange organizations (HIOs) play a pivotal role 
facilitating health information exchange across disparate providers, 
labs, pharmacies, public health departments, and others. This 
information collection request will gather data from HIOs across the 
nation through the administration of a survey of HIOs to generate the 
most current national statistics and associated actionable insights to 
inform policy efforts. The timely collection of national data from our 
survey will assess current capabilities of HIOs to support effective 
electronic information sharing within the U.S. health care system and 
further aims to achieve nationwide interoperability.
    Since prior to HITECH there has been ongoing assessment of trends 
in the capabilities of HIOs to support clinical exchange through 
nationwide surveys of HIOs. These prior surveys and studies have 
collected data on organizational structure, financial viability, 
geographic coverage, scope of services, implementation and use of 
standards, perceptions of information blocking, support for public 
health exchange, and participation in networks and the Technical 
Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). Continuing the ongoing 
data collection will be critical to construct a current and 
comprehensive picture of HIOs' role in facilitating exchange and 
ensuring rapid access to important health care data and information 
when it matters most, including vital data to address public health 
emergencies.
    The survey will collect data on HIO capabilities to support 
electronic health information exchange, their maturity, and challenges 
they face. There are five key areas that require assessment: (1) 
adoption of technical standards; (2) perceptions related to information 
blocking; (3) network-to-network connectivity and TEFCA; (4) public 
health data exchange; and (5) organizational demographics, including 
technical capabilities offered by HIOs and the challenges they face in 
supporting electronic health information exchange.
    The survey is being revised (previously approved in 2022 and 2024; 
OMB Control No: 0955-0019) to reflect progress made and ongoing efforts 
in areas including public health, TEFCA, and information blocking to 
ensure alignment with current priorities such as improving public 
health interoperability and Make Health Tech Great Again. These updates 
were developed in consultation with subject matter experts (SMEs) to 
improve the relevance, clarity, and usefulness of the data collected in 
all five key areas of the survey. For example, certain questions with 
low response rates and have lower relevance to current priorities have 
been removed or reorganized. Some question and response wording have 
also been updated to ensure consistency with current policy efforts. 
For example, in the TEFCA section, the list of Qualified Health 
Information Networks (QHINs) have been updated to reflect the current 
list. These changes are intended to reduce respondent burden and 
improve overall data quality while maintaining continuity with prior 
surveys where appropriate.
    This is a 3-year request for OMB approval.

                                          Annualized Burden Hour Table
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                                                                        Number of      Average
      Forms (If necessary)          Respondents (if      Number of    responses per   burden per   Total burden
                                       necessary)       respondents    respondent      response        hours
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HIO Survey......................  U.S. based public              85               1          1.0              85
                                   and private HIOs.
                                                      ----------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................  ...................  ............  ..............  ...........              85
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    Based on a review of the information collection since our last 
request for OMB approval, we have made no adjustments to our burden 
estimate.

Christopher Reyes,
Paperwork Reduction Act Reports Clearance Officer, Office of the 
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-18060 Filed 9-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-28-P


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