Becker's Hospital Review

45 CIO / HEALTH IT HHS finalizes interoperability rules: 7 notes By Jackie Drees H HS on March 9 finalized two interoper- ability rules that will give patients secure and free access to their health data. e two rules, issued by ONC and CMS, sup- port the MyHealthEData Initiative and 21st Century Cures Act. Seven things to know: 1. e ONC final rule pinpoints necessary activities that do not constitute information blocking and establishes new regulations to prevent information blocking practices by pro- viders, health IT developers, health information exchanges and health information networks. 2. Under ONC's new rule, EHR users will be able to share health records data in formats such as screenshots or video. e rule out- lines new provisions for health IT developers to ensure that providers using their products can communicate about health IT usability, user experience, interoperability and security using visual methods. 3. ONC's final rule also requires EHRs to provide necessary clinical data, including data classes, to promote new business mod- els of care. The rule supports the advance- ment of common data through the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability, which is a standardized set of health data classes and data elements used for nationwide, health information exchange. 4. ONC's final rule also establishes standard- ized application programming interface re- quirements to support patients' free access and control of their electronic health data via smartphone app of their choice. "President Trump is delivering on his vision for healthcare that is affordable, personal- ized, and puts patients in control," HHS Sec- retary Alex M. Azar said in a news release. "From the start of our efforts to put patients and value at the center of our healthcare sys- tem, we've been clear: Patients should have control of their records, period. Now that's becoming a reality." 5. CMS' interoperability and patient access final rule requires Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, CHIP and federal exchange health plans to electronically share claims data with patients beginning Jan. 21, 2021. 6. e Patient Access API, required by CMS, will allow patients to access their health data through any third-party app they pick to con- nect to the API and will integrate a health plan's information with a patient's EHR. Pa- tients can take their health and claims data with them as they move from different health plans and providers. 7. Under CMS' final rule, the agency will establish a new condition of participation for all Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals, requiring them to send electronic notifications to other healthcare facilities or community providers when a patient is ad- mitted, transferred or discharged. Beginning April 1, 2022, CMS will also require states to send enrollee data for beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. n Microsoft rethinks potential of Windows 7 after ending support By Mackenzie Garrity M icrosoft still sees significant potential profit from users upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10, according to CNBC. The tech giant ended support in January for its Windows 7 op- erating system, which was one of the most commonly used sys- tems. Typically, Microsoft sees an influx in revenue when it ends support of older operating systems. This is because users and companies tend to purchase the latest from Microsoft. However, this year, it is taking longer for Microsoft to experience the revenue spikes from the upgrade process. Microsoft's CFO Amy Hood said that the COVID-19 public health crisis and a chip shortage could be factors for not meeting revenue projections. "What is different about this is there still remains quite a bit of opportunity more than we saw at this point in the prior cycles," Ms. Hood said at the Morgan Stanley Technology Medical and Telecom conference March 2, according to CNBC. "A lot of that exists where you would expect it to exist, which is [the] small and medium business segment. Not unusual, but it means that we do have some room to continue to grow and likely means that the curve will look different than last time in terms of its shape." Microsoft said it does not expect to reach its upcoming quarterly guidance range. n UPMC Susquehanna medical records snooping case continues By Mackenzie Garrity A judge refused to dismiss a claim against Williamsport, Pa.-based UPMC Susquehan- na that holds the health system liable after an employee went snooping on a co-worker's medical record, according to Pennlive.com. Taylor Fausnaught filed a lawsuit last year against her co-worker Tasha Klock alleging Ms. Klock ille- gally accessed her medical records. Ms. Fausnaught also named the hospital in the lawsuit. While UPMC will have to move forward with the liability case, the judge dismissed the punitive damages claim against UPMC. The judge also dismissed three negligence claims against UPMC and the allegation that the hospital violated consumer protection law. In July 2018, UPMC discovered that Ms. Fausnaught's records had been wrongfully accessed. An inter- nal investigation found that Ms. Klock accessed the medical records out of curiosity on June 11, 2018. Ms. Klock was disciplined by the health system and underwent additional training and monitoring. n

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