Premier Asks for Detailed Guidance on Information Blocking

Premier joined 27 other organizations in urging HHS to create more specific and granular guidance on the implementation of the information blocking regulations. In a letter to HHS Secretary Becerra, Premier and the groups express concern about the lack of a clear and consistent understanding of the information blocking regulations, which has played a major role in allegations that providers are blocking access to patient data.

The groups ask for the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Office of Inspector General (OIG) to focus on education, rather than enforcement to address the knowledge gaps that still exist within the provider community. Specifically, the groups call on HHS to:

• Define the foundational concepts behind information sharing;
• Create use case/scenario-based FAQs to augment current guidance;
• Provide deeper technical assistance to support information blocking compliance efforts; and
• Bolster the communication vehicles for releasing the enhanced guidance.