In HHS Reorganization, ONC to Take Bigger Role

In a significant reorganization within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ONC will be renamed the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC), with Micky Tripathi, Ph.D., in the new role of Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

Previously, responsibility for policy and operations has been shared by and distributed across the ONC, the Assistant Secretary for Administration (ASA), and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). Oversight over technology, data, and artificial intelligence policy and strategy will now move to ASTP/ONC (this includes the HHS-wide roles of Chief Technology Officer, Chief Data Officer, and Chief AI Officer). A new Office of Digital Services is also being created.

Also, the public-private effort between the health sector and the federal government on cybersecurity (the 405(d) Program) will move to ASPR, joining the other health sector cybersecurity activities already located in ASPR’s Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection, and advancing the department’s goal of a one-stop-shop healthcare cybersecurity policy.

ASTP/ONC will establish an Office of the Chief Technology Officer and reinstitute the role of Chief Technology Officer, who will oversee department-level and cross-agency technology, data, and AI strategy and policy.

In a blog post on ONC’s website, Tripathi said, “For some time, and especially over the last few years, ONC has played an informal role shaping technology and data policy across HHS; this move formalizes this function, which will allow us to build synergies with the work that we’ll continue to do in health IT, and stand up dedicated organizational capacity to ensure that HHS is making the best use of technology and data across all operating and staff divisions."

Noting that ONC is 20 years old, Tripathi added, “At HHS, we take extraordinary pride in our collective work to improve our health system. We at ASTP/ONC are grateful for the confidence being placed in us by the department. I don’t know what the health system will look like 20 years from now, but I can assure you that ASTP/ONC will do everything we can to make it work better for the American people.”