What’s Next for the Information Blocking Rule Now that the Deadline Has Passed?
Earlier this month, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and nine other healthcare industry groups called on HHS to postpone the information blocking compliance deadline, which was October 6th.
In addition, ten provider groups also urged HHS to do the same. The key arguments were that there are significant knowledge gaps within the provider and vendor communities with respect to implementation and enforcement of information blocking regulations.
Despite these lobbying efforts, the October 6th deadline has come and gone. The new information blocking regulations require health care organizations to give patients unfettered access to their full health records in digital format.
The regulations also apply to all electronic health information in a record that qualifies as protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Prior to the deadline, STAT Magazine offered some very strong opinions about how health data interoperability cannot wait, and their editorial board found it “disheartening” that those 10 health care industry groups were pushing for its delay.
In 2020, Mariann Yeager, CEO of The Sequoia Project, did a RosettaHealth podcast interview with us, and discussed the tools that can help aid in compliance. For example, The Sequoia Project is offering an Information Blocking Compliance Boot Camp, as well as a number of compliance resources in the form of free tools, checklists, reports and webinars.
Fast-forward to last month, The Sequoia Project took things one-step-further by releasing the final version of the set of resources designed to help regulated entities better comply with the information blocking requirements.
These resources will aim to help with the transition to a culture of health information sharing that supports health and care within the context of existing rules.
RosettaHealth can assist with any health information challenges you might have, book a free consultation with one of our interoperability experts.