{"id":16916,"date":"2020-12-16T10:30:18","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T15:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthit-gov.go-vip.net\/buzz-blog\/?p=16916"},"modified":"2026-01-06T15:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T15:42:17","slug":"pssst-information-blocking-practices-your-days-are-numberedpass-it-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthit.gov\/blog\/insights-updates\/pssst-information-blocking-practices-your-days-are-numberedpass-it-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Pssst\u2026Information blocking practices, your days are numbered\u2026Pass it on."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Passed four years ago, the 21st<\/sup> Century Cures Act (Cures Act) included a definition of \u201cinformation blocking.\u201d On behalf of the HHS Secretary, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) was tasked with implementing this definition and its \u201cexceptions.\u201d The new regulation (also a \u201claw\u201d) published in the Federal Register this past May by ONC identified three types of participants in health care that are covered under information blocking: 1) health care providers, 2) health IT developers of certified health IT, and 3) health information networks (HINs)\/health information exchanges (HIEs). We call them \u201cactors\u201d for short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the Cures Act, Congress defined information blocking and established penalties for those who engage in information blocking. In general, actors can no longer engage in practices that interfere with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information unless the practices are required by applicable law(s) or if an actor meets an \u201cexception\u201d established by the HHS Secretary. My companion blog post \u201cTo share or not to share, what’s an exception (to information blocking)<\/a>?\u201d unpacks the exceptions<\/a> we established in the Cures Act Final Rule to address privacy, security, and a host of other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recently issued an interim final rule<\/a> with comment period that extended the deadline for when the information blocking regulation applies to \u201cactors\u201d to April 5, 2021. The details and legal nuances associated with the information blocking law can be a lot to take in. So, here\u2019s a different way to think about the law, especially if you\u2019re one of the \u201cactors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In health care and except for limited circumstances, an actor cannot engage in a practice that would be considered information blocking, unless required by law or an exception is met. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four Information Blocking Basics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

#1: Congress made the law \u201cabout the data\u201d <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Electronic health information (EHI) to be specific. The law does not<\/em> distinguish between ONC-certified and other health IT when it comes to EHI. In other words, the law applies to the access, exchange, and use of EHI no matter what technology is used by actors. This fact sheet<\/a> identifies the differences between the proposed rule and final rule and includes summaries of the EHI definition as well as the definitions for \u201caccess,\u201d \u201cexchange,\u201d and \u201cuse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2: Don\u2019t forget state and other laws. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For example, if an actor is prohibited <\/em>under state law from sharing certain EHI, they are not caught in a catch-22. The state law applies and, therefore, the actor does not need to also meet a regulatory exception to information blocking for the EHI that the state law prohibits sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3: Information block!? Who\u2026me? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The information blocking law applies expansively to the three types of actors. I\u2019ll briefly unpack who they are and how (here\u2019s a fact sheet<\/a> for all three).<\/p>\n\n\n\n