The FDA released its list of guidance priorities for 2015, which includes finalized and draft guidance for several health IT issues, Modern Healthcare reports (Tahir, Modern Healthcare, 1/9).

Details of Guidance List

FDA divided its guidance priorities for 2015 into three lists:

• The A-list, which includes guidance documents that the agency intends to publish;
• The B-list, which includes guidance documents that the agency intends to publish if resources permit; and
• A list of previously released guidance documents for which the agency is seeking "retrospective review" (FDA guidance list, 1/8).

The agency's A-list included final guidance and draft guidance on:

• Medical device decision support software; and
• Unique device identifiers.

Meanwhile, the B-list included:

• Medical device interoperability; and
• Patient access to health data (Bresnick, EHR Intelligence, 1/9).

Bradley Merill Thompson, a lawyer with Epstein Becker Green, said interoperability -- which the federal government has been pushing for -- might have been pushed to the B-list because "FDA expects other agencies will take the lead ... and perhaps they are planning to play a more supportive role" (Modern Healthcare, 1/9).

FDA is seeking stakeholder comment on the topics (EHR Intelligence, 1/9).