Photo Credit: Gemini
By Ronald P. Snyder, OD, FAAO
May 28, 2026
During a recent visit to my internist’s office, I was handed a clipboard and asked to complete a new patient registration packet. It consisted of eleven pages requesting personal information, insurance details, emergency contacts, HIPAA acknowledgments and various legal and consent forms. Frankly, I found the experience frustrating, especially since I had been a patient of this physician for many years.
I’d like to introduce a more accurate and efficient alternative: a process in which providers receive a patient’s prior medical records, laboratory results and relevant clinical information from other healthcare providers before the patient arrives for their visit.
Reviewing a patient’s medical and ocular history prior to entering the exam room provides valuable clinical insight, improves workflow efficiency and demonstrates a higher level of personalized care. Patients are often impressed when their provider already understands their health background and relevant comorbidities.
THE ROLE OF USCDI V3
The good news is that this level of data accessibility is becoming possible through initiatives led by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), which has released United States Core Data for Interoperability Version 3 (USCDI v3).
USCDI v3 establishes a standardized set of health data elements that certified electronic health record (EHR) systems must be capable of exchanging nationally. The ONC adopted USCDI v3 under the HTI-1 Final Rule.
Simply stated, USCDI represents the minimum common clinical language that all certified EHRs are required to speak. It serves several purposes:
- Improves healthcare interoperability
- Reduces information blocking
- Ensures essential clinical data can move seamlessly between providers, systems and patients
- Enables both sending and receiving standardized electronic health information
KEY ENHANCEMENTS IN USCDI V3
Version 3 expands the scope of shareable clinical data to include several new categories:
- Clinical notes
- Expanded laboratory data
- Procedures and interventions
- Diagnostic imaging data
- Health insurance information
- Enhanced patient demographics
- Social determinants of health (SDOH)
- Care team member information
- Goals and clinical assessments
- Expanded problems and conditions data
USCDI v3 also introduces accountability measures. Civil monetary penalties may be imposed for noncompliance and for information blocking practices that delay or impede access to electronic health information. These enforcement measures reinforce the national commitment to transparent and efficient data exchange.
While these new standards increase transparency, they do not create new administrative hurdles for the office. You do not need separate patient authorization to receive medical and ocular history information for treatment purposes. Under HIPAA, permission is implicit once the patient schedules an appointment and presents for care, as the information exchange falls under treatment, payment and healthcare operations (TPO).
With the legal and technical framework in place, providers already have access to systems that enable sharing of patient information with the national network. All providers should become familiar with this process, as it is expected to significantly impact clinical practice operations. Specialized tools like Healthcare Registries’ Universal Co-Management App align with USCDI v3 by enabling interoperable exchange of core patient data, clinical measurements, lab results and imaging as an adjunct to existing EHR systems.
WHY USCDI V3 MATTERS
For healthcare providers, USCDI v3 ensures that more clinical data is structured and shareable rather than trapped in PDFs or isolated data silos. Access to comprehensive patient information prior to encounters improves clinical decision-making, reduces administrative burden and enhances patient satisfaction.
For EHR vendors and health IT developers, certified systems must support these expanded data classes and expose them through standardized APIs, including FHIR-based interfaces.
Read more from Dr. Snyder here.
Read more on software solutions/EHR here.
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Ronald P. Snyder, OD, FAAO, is the president and CEO of Healthcare Registries, LLC. To contact him: RonSnyder@HealthCareRegistries.com |
