At first glance, the recently finalized Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (HTI-4) rule might seem like another straightforward set of regulatory requirements. But in the hands of forward-thinking health IT and EHR vendors, it can be so much more.
For organizations ready to think strategically, HTI-4 can spark meaningful change—smarter workflows, less administrative friction, and innovation that delivers real value to providers.
“These rules can actually become powerful catalysts for transformation,” Tyler Wince, VP of Product & Technology for Specialty Solutions at DrFirst, said during a recent webinar. “When approached strategically, they can reshape your organization—delivering measurable value to provider customers and giving your platform a true competitive edge.”
In “Beyond Compliance: Turn Regulatory Deadlines Into Strategic Advantage,” now available on demand, DrFirst experts walk viewers through the new regulations and how our orchestration platform can position EHRs for success.
Wince explained that HTI-4 sets the groundwork to fix some of the biggest problems in medication management, including:
“All of these things are tied up in the ability to improve ePA workflows,” he said, and they all have real-world consequences.
“Most of us have waited on the phone with our insurance companies or with pharmacies, trying to get a prescription filled,” Wince said. “We just want to be on therapy or want our loved ones to be on therapy. Delays are a huge frustration point.”
Meeting regulatory requirements is just the start. The organizations that thrive will be the ones that turn these mandates into momentum—reimagining medication management with smarter, faster technology.
After a sneak peek at some of the innovations included in the DrFirst orchestration platform, a live poll asked webinar attendees to choose the one they were most excited about.
“Prescribers are saving a huge amount of time and actually improving the accuracy of the AI-generated answers because it’s coming directly out of clinical notes,” Wince said. “It’s taking ePA workflows from dozens of minutes down to just a couple of minutes. That is something that drives more time with patients, and that’s exciting to me.”
Tyler Higgins, Senior Director of Product Management at DrFirst, added: “It’s going to be able to save time, it’s going to improve accuracy, and then it’s going to enable us to grow together and advance any kind of future innovations along the way.”
The HTI-4 final rule, in effect as of October 1, 2025, introduces new standards for:
Meeting these requirements means juggling multiple interconnected compliance deadlines:
“That first deadline is actually coming up pretty fast,” said Higgins, adding that new F&B and RTPB should be in development now. “2027 seems pretty far away. It’s really not. Not when it comes to adding development cycles, testing cycles, and then rolling this information out.”
Watch the on-demand webinar to learn what the HTI-4 rule means for your platform and what’s coming next in orchestration innovation. If you’re ready to see how our new lightweight prescription orchestration integration speeds up compliance and gets you access to platform improvements, reach out to us here.