This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
In response to requests from CHA and other stakeholders, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the comment period for its two proposed rules on interoperability and information blocking to June 3.
The extension of the public comment period coincides with a release by the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the second draft of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). Comments on the TEFCA are due June 17.
In addition, the HHS Office for Civil Rights updated its frequently asked questions (FAQs) to address the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) right of access as it relates to apps designated by individual patients and application programming interfaces used by a health care provider’s electronic health record (EHR) system.
The FAQs clarify that, if protected health information is shared with a third-party app as directed by the patient, the HIPAA-covered entity will not be liable under HIPAA for subsequent use or disclosure of the protected health information if the app was not provided by or on behalf of the covered entity.
