Information blocking among EHR vendors and health systems is still common despite policymakers' recent efforts to ban such practices, according to a January study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Researchers collected survey results from 89 health information exchange organizations to learn more about the prevalence of EHR vendors and health systems blocking efforts to digitally share patient data necessary for medical care.
Fifty-five percent of HIEs reported cases of information blocking by EHR vendors at least some of the time, and 14 percent said all EHR vendors participated in information blocking.
The most prevalent form of information blocking among EHR vendors was setting inappropriately high prices, with 42 percent of HIEs reporting this practice. The second most prevalent form was artificial barriers, reported by 23 percent of HIEs.
Thirty percent of HIEs reported cases of information blocking for health systems. The most common information blocking practice among health systems was refusing to share health data, with 14 percent of HIEs reporting this practice.