As part of the Eisenhower Fellowships, 101 Health Research founder Dr. Venus Cloma-Rosales had the privilege of engaging with Dr. Donald Rucker, former U.S. National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and one of the leading architects of national health data policy in the United States.
Dr. Rucker’s leadership at ONC helped advance major federal reforms that made interoperability—the seamless and secure exchange of health data across systems—a cornerstone of modern healthcare. Key U.S. policies such as the HITECH Act (2009) and the 21st Century Cures Act (2016) established the framework for how digital health systems should not only collect data, but also share it meaningfully for patient care, research, and innovation.
The HITECH Act first drove hospitals and clinics to adopt electronic health records through the Meaningful Use program. The 21st Century Cures Act then took the next step, requiring that these systems become interoperable and prohibiting “information blocking.”
Information blocking refers to any practice by hospitals, vendors, or insurers that intentionally prevents or limits the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information. For example, when systems refuse to share data with patients or other providers under the guise of “privacy” or for competitive reasons, they effectively block the flow of information that could improve care. The ONC’s information blocking rule made this practice illegal, aligning the healthcare industry toward transparency and patient empowerment.
These reforms introduced several critical tools for interoperability:
- FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) – a standardized API that allows data to move securely between health systems and apps.
- The U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) – a consistent national dataset that defines what information every health record must be able to share.
- The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) – a national network of trusted data exchanges to ensure interoperability at scale.
Dr. Rucker emphasized that interoperability is not just a technical challenge—it’s about governance, trust, and aligning incentives. True progress happens when healthcare institutions see data sharing as a shared value, not a competitive threat.For 101 Health Research, these lessons are invaluable. They highlight the importance of building a connected, patient-centered health data ecosystem in the Philippines—one that strengthens universal health care through responsible data use, secure exchange, and digital trust.
As Dr. Rucker shared, “the Internet is the best model of interoperability.” The same principles—open standards, distributed systems, and trusted directories—can guide our collective journey toward universal data connectivity as the foundation of equitable, data-driven health care.
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