ONC will host an informational webinar on February 28th at 2 PM ET to provide further details on the proposed rule and to answer general questions. Please register to join the discussion. The webinar will also be recorded and posted on the HealthIT.gov website for future playback.
Featured ONC speakers:
- Elise Sweeney Anthony, J.D., Executive Director, Office of Policy
- Michael Lipinski, J.D., Director, Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of Policy
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently proposed a new rule to support seamless and secure access to, exchange of, and use of, electronic health information (EHI).
The proposed rule is designed to increase innovation and competition by giving patients and their healthcare providers secure access to health information and to new tools, allowing for more choice in care and treatment. It calls on the healthcare industry to adopt “open” application programming interfaces (APIs), which would allow individuals to securely and easily access structured EHI using applications for smartphones and other mobile devices. The proposed rule would implement Congress’s prohibition on information blocking and, as required by the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act), would also propose exceptions to the definition of information blocking. The proposed rule would place a strong focus on patient access to their health information through a provision requiring that patients could electronically access their EHI at no cost.
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING (#NPRM): @ONC_HealthIT Proposes New Rule to Improve Interoperability of Health Information and requests public comment. https://t.co/OMbZ8p2dl9 #CuresAct #HealthIT pic.twitter.com/qhPsEOgwjB
— ONC (@ONC_HealthIT) February 11, 2019