Effective April 5, all practices must comply with the information-blocking regulations that are part of the federal 21st Century Cures Act, which is designed to facilitate widespread access and sharing of health information among patients and physicians.
The rules require that physicians give patients prompt access to significant portions of the patient’s electronic health information (EHI) upon request, unless specific exceptions apply.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) specifically states that this includes eight types of clinical notes: discharge summaries, history and physicals, progress notes, consult notes, imaging reports, laboratory reports, pathology reports, and procedure notes.
If you’re still confused about how the new rules will affect you and your practice, TMA has created and curated several resources to help:
Your electronic health record (EHR) vendor should have updated your EHR to help you comply with the technical aspects of responding to requests for EHI.
There are currently no fines or penalties for noncompliance; however, those are expected to be part of future rulemaking.
If you have questions about information blocking, contact TMA’s Health Information Technology Department at (800) 880-5720 or via email.
Last Updated On
April 06, 2021
Originally Published On
April 06, 2021