Minnesota Medical Association: Guidance Provided for Implementing Cures Act Related to Electronic Health Information

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Oct. 30 -- The Minnesota Medical Association issued the following news:

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released regulations implementing provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures) requiring physicians to comply with new regulations on the access, exchange, and use of patients' electronic health information (EHI).

The Cures Act was passed to promote interoperability of electronic health records (EHR), and prohibit information blocking, which has been used to provide an economic advantage to certain EHR vendors. The focus of the new regulations is information blocking, defined as practices that prevent or materially discourage the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information. Physicians, hospitals, EHR vendors, and health information exchanges (HIE) and health information networks (HIN) are all subject to ONC's rule and are collectively referred to as "Actors."

Actors whose actions are likely to interfere with the access, exchange, or use of HIE could be considered information blockers and subject to penalties or disincentives. EHR vendors and HIE/HINs can receive up to $1 million in civil monetary penalties per violation. Penalties and other "disincentives" for physicians and all other health care providers have yet to be determined by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

While physicians participating in the Promoting Interoperability (PI) Program could see an impact to their Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) incentives if they are found to be information blockers, the AMA is urging HHS to refrain from creating any new physician penalties.

Actors are required to comply with ONC's information blocking regulations by April 5, 2021.

The AMA has created a two-part educational resource to help physicians and their medical practices understand the requirements and develop an information blocking compliance program. Part 1 of the AMA resource outlines what information blocking is, key terms to know, examples of information blocking practices, and a summary of exceptions for when physicians may restrict access, exchange, and use of EHI. Part 2 will help physicians start down the path of compliance, including questions to consider, considerations for maintaining a compliance program, and next steps.

The AMA will continue to update these resources as the federal government releases new guidance. The AMA is also engaged with the Trump Administration to address concerns that HHS' rule forces physicians to release office notes and lab test results prior to physicians reviewing the information with the patient. The AMA is also working to reduce the complexity and cost required for physicians to comply with these new regulations.