The federal government is pushing forward with regulatory action that it hopes will end data blocking and promote more sharing of patient information.

The government’s plan would put pressure on hospitals and other providers that engage in ‘information blocking.’

If you’ve never requested your medical records from your doctor or hospital before, the process can seem complicated. However, understanding the law, the requirements, and the basic steps will ease the process.

Protecting our medical records takes highly qualified and trained staff, and costs money. If the fee structure is reduced or eliminated by the Florida Legislature, the cost for protecting patient privacy will fall back on the patients with higher fees for medical services.

The ONC finally released its long-awaited proposed rule to implement the information blocking prohibition of the 21st Century Cures Act by identifying conduct that is not information blocking. If finalized, ONCs proposed rule would have a significant impact on data sharing arrangements and other relationships among health care providers, health IT developers, and other stakeholders. In thisOn the Subject, our experienced team analyzes ONCs information blocking proposals and suggests practical next steps for the regulated industry.

The ONC recently released a proposed rule under the 21st Century Cures Act to promote interoperability of health IT and advance access, exchange or use of electronic health information. If finalized, the proposed rule would have significant implications for how health IT developers, health care providers and other stakeholders price access to APIs and other technology used to access, exchange or use health information. This _On the Subject_ discusses the proposed framework for determining whether license fees and other charges for such technology would comply with the ONCs proposed exceptions to the Cures Acts information blocking prohibition and proposed Condition of Certification for APIs.

Often too little attention is paid to documentation, coding, and billing in many medical practices. This creates the risk of financial penalty and legal jeopardy but also patient safety risks. 

One in six (17%) healthcare executives arecompletely unaware of new legislation that requires greater patient access to healthcare records and sharing of such recordswith two-thirds (65%) only somewhat or vaguely familiar, a new Accenture survey finds.