Last month, the Senate healthcare (HELP) committee conducted a hearing titled, “Achieving the Promise of Health Information Technology: Information Blocking and Potential Solutions.” This hearing was part of a series of hearings the committee has conducted over the past few months on health IT and EHR related issues. Discussion among the Senators during the hearing focused on the extent to which information blocking is or isn’t occurring and what actions the federal government could take to put an end to such practices while encouraging interoperability. (See here for more details.)
Impact for NextGen Healthcare clients: It is likely that as a condition of attesting for meaningful use in the future, physicians will have to attest that they are not “information blocking”. While the definition of this practice remains vague, electronic sharing of relevant patient information with physicians inside and outside your health system satisfies your MU obligations in this respect, while improving efficiency and coordination of care. NextGen® Share makes it easy to securely exchange information with other providers and there is no additional cost. For additional information on NextGen Share, see here.