Enterprise HealthONCAssistant Secretary for Technology Policy / Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT
The HHS office that sets health-IT certification criteria and interoperability standards for electronic health records.
Key facts
- The HHS office (now ASTP/ONC) setting health-IT certification criteria.
- Runs the Health IT Certification Program defining what a certified EHR must do.
- Requires interoperability via standards like HL7 and FHIR.
What it means
ONC (now organized under the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, ASTP/ONC) runs the Health IT Certification Program that defines what an EHR must do to be certified — security, interoperability via standards like HL7 and FHIR, clinical quality measures, and patient access. An ONC-certified record is the difference between a homegrown occupational-health database and a system that can exchange data and meet federal quality-reporting requirements.
Frequently asked
What does ONC certification guarantee?
That an EHR has been tested against federal criteria for security, interoperability, clinical quality and patient access. It's the difference between a certified system of record and a homegrown database.
Is ONC the same as ASTP now?
ONC now operates under the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP/ONC). Its core role — running the Health IT Certification Program and setting interoperability standards — is unchanged.
Built to satisfy the agencies that govern you.
See how Enterprise Health maps OSHA, DOT, CDC and ONC requirements to one certified system of record.