Resource Details

Health Center Guidelines for Implementing FHIR and the Information Blocking Rule

HITEQ Center, September 2023

Year Developed: 2023

Resource Type: Toolkit.

Primary Audience: Administrative Staff Clinicians PCAs
Secondary Audience: Board of Directors C-Suite (CEOs, CFOs, CIO, COOs, CMOs, etc.) Enabling Staff Outreach Staff

Language(s): English

Developed by: HITEQ (See other resources developed by this organization).

Resource Summary: The 21st Century Cures Act and the ONC Health IT Certification Program include rules for technical configuration and use of Health Level 7® (HL7) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources® (FHIR) for health data exchange and accessibility. Health centers are directed to enable and publish their healthcare data locations, known as FHIR endpoints,* to and from their electronic health record (EHR). Part of the Cures Act, known as the Information Blocking Rule, mandates that patients have “easy” access to their digital medical information, costs and claims associated with their health record, and whom the data can be shared with.

Resource Details: The 21st Century Cures Act and the ONC Health IT Certification Program include rules for technical configuration and use of Health Level 7® (HL7) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources® (FHIR) for health data exchange and accessibility. Health centers are directed to enable and publish their healthcare data locations, known as FHIR endpoints,* to and from their electronic health record (EHR). Part of the Cures Act, known as the Information Blocking Rule, mandates that patients have “easy” access to their digital medical information, costs and claims associated with their health record, and whom the data can be shared with. FHIR is a standard information protocol that is widely used in the health IT community to meet Cures Act compliance. FHIR interface specifications define how health data is exchanged for interoperability, retrieval, use, and transmission.

Resource Topic: Health Information Technology (HIT)/Data, Operations, Promising Practice

Resource Subtopic: Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Privacy and Security, Administrative Policies, Compliance, Operational Feasibility.

Keywords: Audit, Business Intelligence, Content Management System (CMS), Documentation, Education of - Staff (e.g., Competency-Based), Governing Boards, Health Care Facilities, Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Systems, Implementation Tools, Meaningful Use, Medicaid, Medicare, Non-Clinical Services, Performance Improvement, Policies and Procedures, Privacy/Protected Health Information (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)), Quality Measures.