The omnibus bill passed last week to fund the federal government through the next fiscal year included language directing the ONC to decertify EHRs that are block electronic information exchange.
The bill reads, "ONC should use its authority to certify only those products that clearly meet meaningful use program standards and that do not block health information exchange."
It continues, "ONC should take steps to decertify products that proactively block the sharing of information because those practices frustrate congressional intent, devalue taxpayer investments in [Certified EHR Technology] and make CEHRT less valuable and more burdensome for eligible hospitals and eligible providers to use."
The bill asks ONC to submit a report within 90 days outlining the extent of the blocked information and approximately how many vendors and/or eligible hospitals or providers are blocking the information. The report should include a strategy on how to address the issue, the bill states.
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