Understanding Information Blocking: Definition and Implications for Healthcare
In today’s digital age, information is at our fingertips. The healthcare industry has seen a tremendous transformation in the last couple of years. Patient data is now increasingly being stored in electronic health records (EHRs) to enable healthcare providers to deliver personalized care that is evidence-based and cost-effective. However, the lack of access to this data across the care continuum is still a challenge. This is where the term information blocking comes in. In this blog post, we will define information blocking and its implications for the healthcare industry.
What is Information Blocking?
Information Blocking refers to the practice of interfering with the exchange of electronic health information (EHI) between different healthcare providers, health information exchanges (HIEs), or patients. The actions taken by individuals or organizations that may lead to information blocking can be intentional or unintentional.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) characterizes information blocking broadly as activities that anyone— including providers, technology developers, health information exchange (HIE) administrators, and health plans—undertakes that may interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI).
Types of Information Blocking
According to the ONC, there are several types of information blocking practices. These include technical, financial, knowledge, and organizational information blocking.
1. Technical information blocking refers to methods applied by vendors to limit the interoperability between different healthcare information systems to protect their market share.
2. Financial information blocking occurs when data holders withhold data sharing due to financial incentives, such as the high cost of sharing information or reimbursing providers for data exchanges.
3. Knowledge information blocking happens when data holders restrict data access to others due to proprietary data concerns or to protect intellectual property.
4. Organizational information blocking occurs when data holders engage in data blocking practices as part of their business strategy, such as a hospital blocking data exchange to retain a patient in their network.
The Implications of Information Blocking in Healthcare
The implications of information blocking in healthcare can be far-reaching. They can lead to negative outcomes that affect the quality of care, patient safety, and cost. Some of the implications of information blocking in healthcare include:
1. Diminished quality of care: The lack of access to complete patient data across the care continuum can hinder the ability of healthcare providers to deliver appropriate, effective, and safe care.
2. Unsafe patient care: Information blocking practices can lead to errors in a patient’s medication regimen, duplicate testing, and miss critical diagnoses.
3. Increased healthcare costs: The lack of data sharing can lead to higher healthcare costs as patients undergo unnecessary testing, delayed care, or are readmitted to the hospital.
4. Loss of trust: Patients may lose trust in their healthcare providers who can’t be assured that they are receiving the best care possible because their providers lack access to complete patient data.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the practice of information blocking poses significant challenges for the healthcare industry. The consequences of these practices can be detrimental to patient health outcomes, quality of care, and trust in the healthcare system. It’s essential for healthcare providers, health plans, and vendors to play their part in promoting health information exchange (HIE) to ensure that patients receive the best care possible. A collaborative effort by different stakeholders is required to identify, address, and mitigate the factors that contribute to information blocking.
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