Summary
The U.S. government is taking action against certain health IT developers for potential violations of rules meant to prevent "information blocking." This involves preventing unfair restrictions on data access, particularly concerning electronic health records (EHR), to ensure proper sharing of patient information.
Key Facts
- The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has started oversight actions against some health IT developers.
- These actions aim to address "information blocking," which restricts access to electronic health records.
- The ONC is sending notices to developers suspected of not following certification requirements.
- There is tension between protecting data as intellectual property and the need for access by other vendors.
- Recently, lawsuits have highlighted conflicts over data access, involving companies like Epic.
- The ONC's actions may help smaller tech companies gain fair access to healthcare data.
- Concerns remain about cybersecurity risks with increased data sharing and integration.
