Regulations for Interoperability and the End of Information Blocking are Here. What Happens Now?

For the past several years, digital health innovators and patient advocates at UCSF and beyond have vigorously argued for the passage and adoption of ONC regulations regarding patient- and provider-facing APIs, data sharing, and interoperability as defined by the 21st Century Cures Act. This bi-partisan law was designed — and has already done much — to spur development and innovation to advance patient care.

With today’s announcement that these regulations have now been finalized, we are one giant step closer to developing a digital ecosystem that allows providers and patients to seamlessly access the full spectrum of health data, enabling far more efficient, informed care and advanced clinical decision support. Virtual care apps, for example, will be more effective with access to a patient’s medical history, medication history, and lab results. Population health tools could be deployed with fewer delays and lower cost by having more comprehensive data access. And we look forward to more rapid data integrations with technology partners to more effectively and quickly deliver care to patients and families. We are nearer the vision of a Connected Health Record.

Have you ever wondered why it is so easy to make a dinner reservation or an Apple Genius Bar appointment online, yet so difficult to make an appointment to see a specialist for a serious health condition? Why it is so easy to get access to your financial data and conduct financial transactions across the country, yet so difficult to get and use your health data even with your own health system? The challenge is allowing developers access to APIs that can connect a scheduling interface to patient information, information about a clinic’s doctors to ensure the most appropriate physician(s) are matched to the patient, and the doctor’s appointment docket.

The above example of integrated, interoperable online scheduling is just one example of a problem that CDHI is tackling. In the next one to two years, we look forward to faster development and deployment of EHR-integrated tools that deliver virtual care, monitoring symptoms for cancer patients, advising people with diabetes on how to treat blood sugar levels, providing cost estimates and cost transparency, helping patients find the doctor who is the best match for them, and more.

However, much is incumbent upon EHR vendors, providers, and payers to prepare for the regulations to take effect, and many smaller companies do not have much time to wait for the ability to interoperate and share data back and forth with EHRs. Any further delays would slow the deployment of new technology into clinics and to patients, and strangle the advances that are possible in patient experience, care, and outcomes. As digital health innovators, CDHI will continue to carefully watch and lead the industry in how these regulations are enforced and come into real-world practice so that we can realize the full potential of the Cures Act.