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Discovering that you have cancer usually takes place in a doctor’s office – but not anymore. Now that patients have immediate access to clinical notes, some learn of their diagnosis electronically.

Whats more, once patients have access to personal health information, they will need tools to navigate their health record in a meaningful way that does not bury them in information, Searing explained.There are some openings here to bring in some new services that will help individuals access, and manage, and interpret this data, Searing said. Getting access to the information is really just the first step.The sheer volume of information could overwhelm providers as well, Searing noted. Just like patients, providers will rely on digital tools to curate information for more robust application.

One of the most important and least covered things in healthcare IT is the various EHR Documentation Workstations. No doubt its a regular topic of conversations at healthcare organizations because an EHR workstation configuration really impacts EHR users experience and therefore the patient. Its not as sexy to talk about workstations when you could talk []

HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released updated the USCDI interoperability standards to support the nationwide exchange of sexual orientation, gender identity, and social determinants of health (SDOH) data.The United States Core Data for Interoperabilityversion 2 (USCDI v2) aims to lay the groundwork for the standardized use of SDOH data, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity (SO/GI) information, across the healthcare continuum.

he breach impacted a portion of its North American customers. Immediately upon learning of this incident, Elekta partnered with leading cyber experts and law enforcement to launch an investigation to understand what happened, mitigate any possible harm, and offer our customers a reliable solution that delivers on our commitment to ensure that cancer patients have access to precise and personalized radiotherapy treatments, Elekta stated in the release.For the patients at any of Northwestern Memorial HealthCares nine Chicago-area hospitals impacted, a call center is currently set up to answer questions about the incident. Patients cancall855-731-3327,Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5:30 pm CST.

As an alternative to the paper card, the SMART Health Card cannot be lost or damaged. It is secure and protects the privacy of patient information, Longhurst explained.UCSD said it is the first US health system to adopt the SMART Health Card digital vaccine credential. The SMART Health Card will be usable for all UCSD Health employees, as well as patients who received either COVID-19 vaccine or a COVID-19 test at UCSD Health and who opted into the systems patient portal.

According to OIG, community care staff at those facilities made errors in 44 percent of cases reviewed when indexing veterans mental health medical records into their EHRs (108 errors identified for 92 of 209 veterans). These errors included ambiguous or incorrect document titles, duplicate records, and records indexed to the wrong non-VA care referral or veteran.

While ONC defined Actors ashealth care providers, health IT developers of certified health IT and health information exchanges or networksin the Final Rule and published guidance on theirwebsite, there is still uncertainty as to whom the Information Blocking Rules apply. The confusion may emanate from the lack of familiarity some health care providers and health IT developers have as never having been regulated or overseen by the ONC. There also appears to be overlap between what the ONC Information Blocking Rules protect against and what and how the Office for Civil Rights protects under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Furthermore, providers and payers are typically regulated and overseen by CMS, however, CMS has not addressed any of the potential dis-incentives that providers would be subject to for Information Blocking violations and payers have never been required to use certified electronic health records.It is understandable that the Information Blocking prohibitions would apply to a health IT developer that develops or offers health information technology that is certified under the ONC Certification Program. In the Rules, ONC clarified that the Information Blocking prohibitions apply to a health IT developer as long as the developer has one or more health IT Modules certified under the ONC Health IT Certification Program at the time it engages in a practice that is the subject of an information blocking claim. However, ONC carved out an exception for health care providers that have developed their own health IT for its own use.When ONC defined health care provider based on the definition provided under the Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj) (PHSA definition) it included a significant number of providers that were never before regulated by the ONC. Many of the types of health care providers that were swept into the definition of Actor and subject to the Information Blocking provisions were not included in the incentive programs that made funding available for the purchase of certified electronic health records (e.g., ambulatory surgical centers, long-term care facilities and therapists), there arent quality payment incentive programs for them to participate in and some dont use certified EHRs. Health care providers should be aware that in addition to the guidance ONC published clarifying that Information Blocking applies to any health care provider that meet the definition under the PHSA regardless of whether any of the health IT the provider uses is certified under the ONC Health IT Certification Program, the catch-all clause at the end of the PHSA definition allows any other category of health care facility, entity, practitioner, or clinician determined appropriate by the HHS Secretary to be swept into the definition of Actor.In the Final Rule, ONC combined two categories of Actors, health information exchange and health information networks and adopted one functional definition for both. A health information network or exchange refers to an entity that connects and exercises control over the technologies and services that enable the exchange of information between and among more than two other unaffiliated entities for treatment, payment or health care operations. Considering all the health IT developers, cloud service providers and data aggregators that are offering services to support Interoperability and communication to support health e-commerce, including care and benefit coordination, patient engagement and advancing social determinants of health to achieve care equality, there are a myriad of entities that are connecting multiple provider and/or payer organizations to coordinate the care or benefits of patients. These entities could unwittingly be performing the functions described in the definition of health information exchange or network without even knowing that they are considered Actors under the Information Blocking Rules.2021 Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All rights reserved.National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 173 PRINTER-FRIENDLY EMAIL THIS ARTICLE DOWNLOAD PDF REPRINTS & PERMISSIONSAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTRENDING LEGAL ANALYSISCOVID-19 Variants: The Game of the NameByWomble Bond Dickinson (US) LLPNebraska District Court Holds That GIL 24-19-1 is Not Afforded DeferenceByMcDermott Will & EmeryThe Hits Keep Coming: NCAA Loses Another Name, Image, and Likeness Court DecisionByJackson Lewis P.C.Immigration Weekly Round-Up: NJ State Assembly Votes to Ban ICE Detention; Immigration Benefits No Longer Denied for Minor Application Errors; Children Face Harsh Conditions in Immigration DetentionByNorris McLaughlin P.A.9th Circuit Revives Lawsuit Challenging One of the Board of Directors Diversity StatutesByJackson Lewis P.C.Ohio Supreme Court Rules that School Employees Must Undergo Training in Order to Carry Firearms on School GroundsByRoetzel & Andress LPA AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement ABOUT THIS AUTHORKaren MandelbaumSenior CounselKaren Mandelbaumis a Senior Counsel in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the Washington, DC, office of Epstein Becker Green. She has deep experience in all aspects of data privacy and protection due to her work as a privacy and security official at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and in the private sector.Ms. Mandelbaum:Advises clients on all aspects of federal and state privacy and consumer data protection laws and regulations, including, HIPAA, HITECH, and 42 CFR Part 2Helpsdesignand developeffective data governance…kmandelbaum@ebglaw.com202-861-5322www.ebglaw.comPatricia M. WagnerMemberPATRICIA M. WAGNER is a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences and Litigation practices, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office. 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Whatevers put there is going to follow you for life, Thomas said. I think its important that patients understand that now. She appreciates being able to see what providers are writing about her and her illness so that she can advocate for herself. As doctors learn how to make their comments clearer, Thomas thinks open notes will help other patients become stronger advocates for themselves.

The information blocking regulations at 45 CFR Part 171 began to apply to health care providers, health IT developers of certified health IT, health information exchanges, and health information networks on April 5, 2021, per ONCs recent interim final rule. That makes now a good time to consider stakeholders views about practices that may constitute information blocking, including the extent to which they exist. Our recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association reports on a survey of health information exchanges (HIEs) perceptions of other stakeholders practices related to information blocking.