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A group of 10 hospitals and doctors have asked Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to extend the Oct. 6 information block deadline by one year.
“Despite our best efforts to educate members, significant knowledge gaps and confusion still exist within the provider and vendor community regarding the implementation and enforcement of information blocking regulations,” the group said Monday. in a letter to Becerra.
The group also hopes that HHS will send corrective action alerts to health care providers and clinicians before imposing financial deterrents or initiating formal investigations.
Why this matters
Beginning October 6, stakeholders are expected to share electronic health information in accordance with regulations issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
ONC’s final rule prohibited healthcare providers, healthcare IT developers, healthcare information exchanges, and healthcare information networks from engaging in information blocking practices.
It presented requirements for adoption of Application Programming Interface (API) functions and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). This rule was later expanded to require information sharing with eight exceptions.
“Our members have been working hard to expand the definition of electronic health information (EHI) to meet the information block deadline of 6 October.
The group told Becerra that a key factor limiting its compliance readiness is the lack of widespread support for accessing, exchanging, and using electronic health information. They said they lacked the technical infrastructure to support its secure exchange.
There are also vastly different approaches to how healthcare professionals interpret what data is electronically protected health information, data repository services, and electronic health information. Consistency in the interpretation of the EHI is important, the group said, as they are being held accountable for the interoperability of his EHI.
“Additionally, there continues to be a great deal of confusion about how the Eight Information Block Exceptions apply when EHI cannot or should not be exchanged,” they said.
There are concerns about understanding the harm that can occur when test results and reports are released in cases of life-threatening or life-limiting diagnoses, and sensitivity to substance use disorders, adolescence, mental health, etc. There are inadequate technical and policy guidance to assist providers in protecting the high health records of the population. and reproductive information.
“While we continue to monitor and review the ONC FAQ, many of the questions we are raising are not clearly answered.
In the letter, the provider group thanked HHS for promoting health data exchange and interoperability to improve health equity for all, but noted that providers, clinical It is clear that both physicians and vendors are not fully prepared for the Oct. 6 deadline, he said.
The letter was signed by American Essential Hospitals, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Health Care Association, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Association of Medical Colleges, American Hospital Federation, Medical Group Management Association, and National Assistance Association. Long Term Care and Health Care Information Management Executive College.
the bigger trend
The ONC and CMS rules were intended to meet the interoperability and information blocking provisions of 21st century therapeutics.
With the CMS Interoperability and Patient Access Regulation published in 2020, patients now have digital access to protected health information. This primarily applied to the payer, who had to implement and maintain his secure, standards-based HL7 FHIR API. This will allow patients to easily access data, including their billing and expenses, as well as their clinical information through third-party applications of their choice. Payers were also required to expose provider directory information via standards-based APIs.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
