The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published its highly anticipated final rule to implement the “information blocking” prohibition of the 21st Century Cures Act by identifying conduct that is not information blocking. ONC’s final rule more closely aligns the information blocking provisions with the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s right of patient access, while maintaining robust limitations on practices by certified health IT developers, health care providers and other regulated actors that are likely to impede the flow of electronic health information. In this Special Alert, we analyze the final rule and suggest practical next steps for regulated actors and their vendors.
