ONC delays implementation of interoperability final rule due to COVID-19

CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced on April 21 the delay of the deadline for implementation of the interoperability final rule, citing the need for hospitals to focus entirely on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Interoperability and Patient Access Rule was finalized March 9. It includes several new policies that aim to break down barriers in the health system and allow patients to more easily access their health information. For example, hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and critical access hospitals will be required to show that their electronic records system sends event notifications that include patient name, treating practitioner name, sending institution name, and, if not prohibited by other applicable law, patient diagnosis. Event notifications apply to admission, discharge, and transfer.

In the version of the rule published on March 9, hospitals were given six months to implement these changes.

However, with hospitals battling the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS and ONC announced that they are delaying the deadline for implementation to 12 months from publication of the final rule.

The final rule is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on May 1, which means implementation of the event notification system will be required no earlier than May 1, 2021.

In addition, CMS has delayed the implementation of the Patient Access API and Provider Directory API policies for a six-month period. As a result of COVID-19, and to provide additional flexibility to payers, CMS will not enforce the new requirements until July 1, 2021.