ONC, CMS Give Health Companies More Time To Implement Interoperability Rules In Light Of COVID-19 Pandemic
- April 22, 2020
Bloomberg Law (4/21, Alexander, Subscription Publication) reports, “Health tech companies are getting more time to adopt and implement rules to give patients free access to their data, the HHS said Tuesday.” The rules, which were issued by ONC and CMS, “are also designed to prevent medical providers and health tech vendors from improperly sharing or withholding patient health information.” ONC Coordinator Don Rucker stated, “During this critical time, we understand that resources need to be focused on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.” For her part, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said, “In a pandemic of this magnitude, flexibility is paramount for a healthcare system under siege by COVID-19.”
MedCity News (4/21, Reuter) also quotes Verma as saying, “Now more than ever, patients need secure access to their healthcare data. Hospitals should be doing everything in their power to ensure that patients get appropriate follow-up care. ... Our action today will provide hospitals an additional 6 months to implement the new requirements.”
Modern Healthcare (4/21, Cohen, Subscription Publication) and EHR Intelligence (4/21, Jason) also cover the story.