In a bid to promote easier access and exchange of patients’ health records, the Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule Monday outlining penalties for providers that block access to electronic health information.
“When health information can be appropriately accessed and exchanged, care is more coordinated and efficient, allowing the health care system to better serve patients,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
Fragmented and inaccessible patient data can prevent long-term and post-acute care providers from seeing the full picture of a patients’ health. Hospitals, for example, are not required to share updates about a patient’s health with the patient’s post-acute care provider. As a result, home health and home care agencies frequently cannot access patients’ electronic health records to help assess and treat patients.
Three disincentives
To make patients’ health information more easily accessible for their entire care team, HHS’ new rule includes three disincentives against information blocking. All healthcare providers defined by HHS, including home health agencies, are subject to the rule’s provisions.
First, hospitals that commit information blocking can be subject to a reduction of three quarters of an annual market basket update. Second, clinicians eligible for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System will receive a zero score in the “promoting interoperability performance” MIPS category, which can be equivalent to roughly a quarter of the clinician’s MIPS score in a given year. Lastly, providers that participate in information blocking can have their Medicare Shared Savings Program or Accountable Care Organization eligibility revoked for at least one year.
And though HHS aims to promote information sharing with its final rule, it noted that maintaining security of patients’ personal data remains a key priority.
“We must always take the necessary actions to ensure patient privacy and preferences are protected – and that’s exactly what this rule does,” Becerra noted.
HHS in recent months has taken various measures to promote interoperability across healthcare. In June 2023 the Office of the Inspector General finalized a rule, which established civil money penalties up to $1 million per violation for individuals or entities that have committed information blocking. And the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, which launched in the first quarter of 2024, has presented a new opportunity for post-acute providers to participate in interoperable data solutions.
This story originally appeared on the website of McKnight’s Home Care.
The McKnight’s Tech Daily is an e-newsletter for the audiences of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.
