Electronic health information can be used to help improve health care quality and efficiency, but not if entities that control access to that data use their position to block its availability. The 21st Century Cures Act authorizes HHS to set policies to encourage data sharing and discourage blocking of information.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) Cures Act final rule defines which electronic health information (EHI) must be made available. It also established eight categories or "exceptions" that would not be considered information blocking. There are three types of “actors” who are subject to these policies: providers, health IT developers, and health information exchanges and networks (HIE/HIN).
The ONC information blocking provision takes effect on April 5, 2021. As with any set of new regulations, there's a lot of detail to unpack. You’ll need to figure out your compliance strategy, identify gaps in your policies and processes, and have ongoing conversations to address data blocking concerns. Use our resources to get started. This toolkit will be updated as new resources are published, so make sure to bookmark this page for easy access.