Jordan Everson | June 14, 2023
In a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA), we leveraged data from the 2020 American Hospital Association (AHA) Information Technology Supplement gathered from April-June 2021, shortly after the initial applicability date of the information blocking regulations (April 5, 2021). We found that 42% of hospitals perceived that at least one type of information blocking “actor” (health care provider, health information network/health information exchange, or health IT developer of certified health IT) engaged in practices that may constitute information blocking.
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Rachel Nelson | April 12, 2023
We often get asked about how ONC’s information blocking regulations and HHS’ Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules (HIPAA Rules) interact with one another. To help clarify, ONC just released a few new information blocking frequently asked questions (FAQs) that illustrate how the federal regulations interact. This post also reviews how the information blocking regulations interact with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and other laws that impose specific restrictions on information sharing to protect the privacy of an individual’s health information.
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Jordan Everson | March 20, 2023
A recent study of 8,000 patients that accessed their test results via an online patient portal found that more than 95% wanted to continue to immediately receive test results through their portal. That percentage stayed at 95% when focused on patients with non-normal results.
These findings come amid concerns that the immediate release of test results could lead to patient distress when patients access test results before their physicians could contact them and help to interpret those results.
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Steven Posnack | September 30, 2022
On October 6, 2022, we reach the end of the more than two-year glide path laid out for the information blocking regulations. Moving forward, expect to see periodic, experience-driven regulatory updates as well as continued work on education, outreach, and oversight, including the establishment of disincentives for health care providers. There may also be the possibility of information blocking advisory opinions if Congress grants the Secretary such authority.
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Steven Posnack | May 24, 2022
While the federal government’s budget planning processes may have a certain mystique to them, some interesting tidbits are always in federal agency budgets if you know where to look. Fear not, because this blog post highlights a new legislative proposal associated with information blocking that’s been put forward by the Biden-Harris Administration for HHS. Specifically, the Administration has requested that Congress provide HHS with the authority to issue binding “advisory opinions” for the information blocking regulations as part of our implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act).
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