Health information technology deregulation jeopardizes patient safety and public health.

In this Perspective, we provide the rationale for the retention of safety-critical certification criteria for health information technology by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). To not do so puts all future American patients at risk. The proposed deregulatory actions are based on faulty premises, will lead to serious adverse patient outcomes, and sets a dangerous precedent. Public safety regulations should be held to a higher standard than other regulations, as a central role of government is to protect the general population from the actions of individuals and entities who may have incentives to create potentially harmful products or services.