National Coordinator for Health IT Keane Says Information Blocking on the Chopping Block

HHS's issuance of its first enforcement notices to health IT developers suspected of blocking patient access to health data marks a significant step in promoting transparency and patient empowerment. This development has important implications for website owners, particularly those in the healthcare sector, as it underscores the importance of ensuring seamless access to health information. With the involvement of the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the HHS Office of Inspector General, healthcare organizations must prioritize compliance with information sharing regulations to avoid enforcement actions. To navigate this new landscape, website owners should take proactive steps, such as reviewing their data sharing policies to ensure compliance with HHS regulations, implementing robust auditing and logging mechanisms to track data access and sharing, and updating their terms of service to reflect the new enforcement environment, including considerations for AI bot traffic and potential updates to their llms.txt files to reflect changing data access policies.