Understanding Information Blocking, Part 2, and HIPAA

The 21st Century Cures Act Information Blocking Rule aims to promote patient access to health information and increase system interoperability by establishing penalties for actors who engage in “information blocking.”

Key Points

• Generally, “information blocking” includes practices that would “interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information.”
• However, the Information Blocking Rule does not preempt privacy laws and regulations such as 42 CFR Part 2 (“Part 2”) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”).
• Entities covered by the Information Blocking Rule, which includes health care providers, are still obligated to protect information covered by HIPAA and Part 2.

CoE-PHI Team Authors

Meghan Mead, JD

Stephen Murphy, JD

Jacqueline Seitz, JD

Amber Black, JD (former CoE-PHI Legal Subject Matter Expert)