The Trump administration has begun enforcing federal information-blocking regulations against healthcare organizations that fail to provide patients with access to and exchange of their electronic health information, Politico reported June 17.
Thomas Keane, assistant secretary for technology policy at HHS, told the publication that the agency has stepped up enforcement of data-sharing requirements as part of broader efforts to improve healthcare accessibility and affordability.
Congress directed HHS to address information blocking through the 21st Century Cures Act, which was enacted in 2016. Rules implementing the law were finalized in 2020, and penalties were established in 2024.
The administration previously signaled that information-blocking enforcement would be a priority. In September, HHS said it would increase scrutiny of healthcare organizations, health IT developers and health information exchanges that restrict access to electronic health information and encouraged stakeholders to report potential violations.
Mr. Keane told Politico those enforcement efforts have accelerated this year. He said the agency has begun issuing notices of nonconformity to organizations found to be blocking information and placing some on corrective action plans after they acknowledged noncompliance.
“We have started issuing notices of nonconformity to information blockers,” Mr. Keane said. “We’ve had people come back to us and tell us: ‘Yes, we were information blocking.'”
Mr. Keane said healthcare organizations may have financial or competitive incentives not to share patient information, but federal law requires health information to be shared for the benefit of patients.
He also said the HHS Office of Inspector General has authority to impose fines of up to $1 million per violation of information-blocking rules. The office is hiring attorneys and conducting investigations related to filed complaints.
More than 2,000 information-blocking complaints have been submitted, and HHS is reviewing those cases to determine whether enforcement action is warranted, he said.
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