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ONC releases USCDI Version 7 with 30 new data elements

USCDI Version 7 includes 30 new data elements in an effort to drive interoperability and align with national health and wellness priorities.

Jill Hughes
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Published: 24 Jul 2026

ONC has published United States Core Data for Interoperability Version 7, alongside a complementary standards bulletin that explains the updates. USCDI is a standardized set of data elements for national health information exchange that ONC updates annually based on stakeholder feedback.

Version 7 contains 30 new data elements, as well as one heavily revised element, the Tobacco and Nicotine Product Use element. Of the 31 overall new data elements, 15 are already represented in implementation specifications required in the ONC Health IT Certification Program. Their inclusion in USCDI v7, ONC said, signifies the department's commitment to aligning USCDI with existing interoperability capabilities that are already widely used.

"By expanding the scope of standardized data that is available for nationwide interoperability, the new version strengthens support for patient safety, nutrition care, and administrative burden reduction in alignment with national health and wellness priorities to Make America Healthy Again," the bulletin noted.

New data elements in USCDI v7

USCDI v7 introduced two new data classes: Adverse Events and Healthcare Information Attributes.

The Adverse Events data class encompasses information about the unintended effects associated with medications and immunizations. It includes the Adverse Event Condition and Adverse Event Outcome data elements.

The Healthcare Information Attributes data class "represents contextual information providing supporting details for healthcare data," and includes two new data elements, Diagnostic Report Date and Time and Reason Not Performed. It also includes two relocated elements from other data classes -- Indication and Performance Date and Time.

"Together, these data elements provide essential context that enhances the interpretability and clinical utility of healthcare data," the bulletin stated.

Other new data elements include Allergy Intolerance Criticality, which indicates the potential for harm if a patient is re-exposed to a substance that has caused an allergic reaction in the past, and Healthcare Agent, which identifies the person legally authorized to make decisions on behalf of a patient.

Tobacco and Nicotine Product Use was substantially updated and signifies an evolution of the Smoking Status data element to include the use of tobacco and nicotine products. ONC revised the data element in response to public feedback and to align with the FDA's definition of tobacco use.

Several other data elements were introduced, such as Specimen Collection Method, Medication Administration and Referral Order. In addition to public comments, the updates were informed by a desire to align with the Trump administration's priorities. ONC also collected input via the ONC New Data Element and Class system, which allows the public to propose new data elements.

The ONDEC system is now accepting recommendations for data elements to be included in USCDI Version 8. The public comment period ends on Sept. 28, 2026, and a draft of v8 will be available in January 2027.

Jill Hughes has covered health tech news since 2021. Her coverage areas include cybersecurity, HIPAA compliance, interoperability, AI and EHRs.

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