The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today, March 31, that it is reversing a 2024 reorganization, which means some responsibilities are being shifted back from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO).

The 2024 reorganization dually titled the ONC as the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ASTP/ONC). The Office lead was named the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, who was also known as the National Coordinator for Health IT. The reorganization transferred three HHS-wide technology roles from OCIO to ONC and shifted specific cybersecurity functions out of OCIO.

The reversal shifts these enterprise responsibilities back to OCIO, while sharpening ONC’s focus on nationwide health IT interoperability and data liquidity, according to the press release.

Under this alignment, HHS has ended the Biden administration’s dual management title for the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, restored ONC as a singularly titled office, and shifted the roles, responsibilities, and offices of the HHS Chief Technology Officer (CTO), HHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), and HHS Chief Data Officer (CDO) back under the HHS Chief Information Officer’s leadership, HHS stated.

According to HHS, this structure strengthens OCIO’s legal duty for enterprise IT, cybersecurity, and data operations, while allowing ONC to focus on health IT policies, standards, and certification that promote better care and reduce costs.

HHS outlined how the OCIO will organize enterprise roles around three core functions:

1. Strategic technology leadership and innovation, led by the CTO
2. Responsible, trustworthy artificial intelligence, led by the CAIO
3. Enterprise data governance and analytics, led by the CDO

1.  “This structure allows OCIO to provide an integrated backbone for cloud, cybersecurity, data, and AI that every HHS component can rely on,” HHS CIO Clark Minor said in a statement. “By bringing CTO, CAIO, and CDO functions together under one roof, we can move faster on shared platforms, protect our systems more effectively, and support ONC and the operating divisions with the technology capabilities they need to innovate for patients.”

“With this Department‑wide alignment, ONC can focus even more on standards, certification, and policy, while our close partnership with OCIO ensures that the infrastructure and cybersecurity foundation are in place to support the health care system of tomorrow,” National Coordinator Dr. Thomas Keane, M.D., MBA, remarked in a statement.