EHR and Information Blocking Rules: A Prep Guide

The Information Blocking Rules are set to be implemented on April 5, and we have all that you need to know about the Cures Act Rule and Electronic Health Records (EHR).

There is a wide range of electronic health information (EHI) clinicians need to be able to provide to their patients in a standardized format through their EHR. This includes demographics, allergies, assessment information, lab results, progress notes, and discharge summaries, among other data. (see aoa.org)

And as the rule’s name implies, providers cannot intentionally withhold this information(see acponline.org). However, there are are eight exceptions to the rule (see ama-assn.org):

1. Preventing harm exception – It will not be information blocking for an actor to engage in practices that are reasonable and necessary to prevent harm to a patient or another person, provided certain conditions are met.
2. Privacy exception – It will not be information blocking if an actor does not fulfill a request to access, exchange, or use EHI in order to protect an individual’s privacy, provided certain conditions are met.
3. Security exception – It will not be information blocking for an actor to interfere with the access, exchange, or use of EHI in order to protect the security of EHI, provided certain conditions are met.
4. Infeasibility exception –  It will not be information blocking if an actor does not fulfill a request to access, exchange, or use EHI due to the infeasibility of the request, provided certain conditions are met.
5. Health IT performance exception – It will not be information blocking for an actor to take reasonable and necessary measures to make health IT temporarily unavailable or to degrade the health IT’s performance for the benefit of the overall performance of the health IT, provided certain conditions are met.
6. Content and manner exception – It will not be information blocking for an actor to limit the content of its response to a request to access, exchange, or use EHI or the manner in which it fulfills a request to access, exchange, or use EHI, provided certain conditions are met.
7. Fees exception – It will not be information blocking for an actor to charge fees, including fees that result in a reasonable profit margin, for accessing, exchanging, or using EHI, provided certain conditions are met.
8. Licensing exception – It will not be information blocking for an actor to license interoperability elements for EHI to be accessed, exchanged, or used, provided certain conditions are met.

Needless to say, this means that providers need to expand the process of how patients will receive their EHI. To best comply with the Information Blocking Rules, providers need an ONC-ACB certified EHR like Zoobook. Zoobook is prepared to support the above requirements of the Cures Act rules especially for behavioral health, mental health, and addiction treatment facilities.

As an EHR, Zoobook makes the work easier by putting all records in one safe place. It’s a smart tool that holds all essential EHI for you, and you can be sure that it’s easy to navigate for both you and your patients. These points help you comply with all Information Blocking Rules.

Want to learn more? Request a demo today.