AHA yesterday expressed concern that certain enforcement mechanisms contemplated for health care providers to further interoperability in the 21st Century Cures legislation are inappropriate and could have significant unintended consequences. “We appreciate the inclusion of provisions to further interoperability in Subtitle A of Title III of the 21st Century Cures legislation,” AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack said in a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “However, we are concerned that the heavy-handed and duplicative enforcement mechanisms contemplated for providers could have significant unintended consequences, including undermining new models of care and setting up an environment where well-intentioned providers face significant penalties for small mistakes.” He added, “We appreciate your intent to hold vendors accountable for the design and marketing of interoperable products, and recommend that you ask the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study of anti-competitive behavior by EHR vendors.” In addition, he said, “we still lack significant technical capabilities and infrastructure to support efficient and effective health information exchange. We believe that there are positive steps that would further our shared goals, such as more robust testing of health information technology products and greater commitment to developing and maturing data standards.”

Related News Articles

Headline
The FBI Aug. 20 released an advisory warning of malicious activity by Russian cyber actors targeting end-of-life devices running an unpatched vulnerability in…
Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Aug. 21 announced the creation of a Healthcare Advisory…
Headline
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, National Security Agency, FBI and international agencies Aug. 13…
Headline
Josh Neff, CEO of CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital, discusses a new cutting-edge communication platform that sends patient EKGs directly from the ambulance to the…
Headline
The Department of Justice Aug. 11 announced a series of actions taken against the BlackSuit ransomware group, also known as “Royal,” including the disruption…
Headline
The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and international agencies July 29 released a joint advisory on recent tactics by the Scattered…