Starting in March 2022, Inferno, ONC's testing tool for the Standardized API Certification Criterion for Patient and Community Services, will conduct beta testing for the Implementation Guide (IG) US Core Level Seven (HL7®) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) 4.0.0 This new version is expected to include several improvements over version 3.1.1, and we are awaiting initial feedback from healthcare IT developers interested in using the new version as part of Inferno testing in the future. We would also like to note that US Core IG 4.0.0 is currently under consideration for the Standards Release 2022 Advancement Process (SVAP) and we are seeking public feedback on whether ONC will approve version 4.0.0 for use in Health IT certification. must be approved by the ONC program (you can comment using the SVAP link above).

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Since the adoption of HL7® FHIR® Release 4.0.1 and FHIR US Core Implementation Guide (IG) STU 3.1.0 in the ONC Cures Act Final Rule of May 2020, ONC has worked closely with the community healthcare IT developers to ensure that Inferno renders correctly use the US Core IG. For example, we updated Inferno to test with US Core version 3.1.1 IG referenced in our December 2020 Interim Final Rule and updated the companion API certification guide to include clarifications for 170.315(g) ( 10) which are the direct result of Comments on the Inferno test.

The process of creating and refining the US Core IG is well established and supported by the industry. Much of what we learned from the implementation of US Core IG 3.1.1 in Inferno helped to accelerate the development of US Core IG 4.0.0 and the enhancements it contains. This kind of iteration and feedback loop between implementers and standards developers is a feature of FHIR and our testing approach, not a bug.

We expect this beta test to shed some light on how Inferno tests with US Core IG version 4.0.0. We recognize that the US Core IG version 4.0.0 is an important stepping stone between the current IG 3.1.1 and future IGs. We hope you will consider joining this effort and working with us to improve Inferno in the future.

If you would like to participate in this beta testing opportunity, please let us know and we will provide further updates in the coming weeks.