| The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized two interoperability rules to give patients direct access to their healthcare data. The first provisions of the rule will impact healthcare systems in as soon as six months.  | Health systems, payers, providers, and patients will be impacted; innovation is expected to flourish.
| | The two rules, issued by the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), were announced last year, and the final rules were issued today. |
They are expected to "empower patients around a common aim—giving every American access to their medical information so they can make better healthcare decisions," according to a release issued by CMS. Read the full story... Related Coverage: - HIMSS Weighs in on HHS Interoperability Proposals: 8 Takeaways
- CMS Administrator Verma Scolds 'Bad Actors' Opposing Interoperability
- Is Your Organization Prepared for Interoperability Compliance?
- Special Report: Epic Uproar Exposes Conflict Between Data Privacy and Innovation
- HHS Interoperability Proposal Would Name-and-Shame Info Blockers
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