It is the start of a new year and one thing we know for sure; nothing stays the same. Rules change, technology changes, and we must keep up. We wrote about the new Information Blocking Rule last July, but we have found many practices still do not understand what this means to them.
When the EHR Meaningful Use criteria was introduced in 2013, CMS stated that practices did not have to implement specific technology if a patient requested their information in a format that they did not have in place. This has all changed with the Information Blocking Rule that was passed in 2021. Part of the Interoperability Standard requires medical providers and health information companies to share patient data upon patient request. This Rule makes it very clear when it comes to patients and the control they have over their information. This is also known as “right of access”.
In the past EHRs was hesitant to open their portals due to security issues. Now, it is required to have security measures in place and share the data. There are some exceptions, but be forewarned, they are vague, and could be misinterpreted.
Penalty guidelines are in place for IT operators and health information companies, they are still working on the guidelines for medical providers. This gives you a limited amount of time to get ready for heavy enforcement.
Patients are now permitted to request their information be made available in the format of their choice. This includes to a third-party app installed on their mobile devices. These apps should protect patient data by supporting secure access through authentication processes similar to what the financial industries use.
To continue reading this article click here:
https://arismedicalsolutions.com/information-blocking-rule-best-practices-to-prepare-now/
Saturday, January 15, 2022
