HTI-5 and Information Blocking: Your Bots Are Covered, and Your Excuses Are Getting Smaller

HTI-5 and Information Blocking: Your Bots Are Covered, and Your Excuses Are Getting Smaller

by | Jan 2, 2026 | , , , ,

HTI-5 is calling out two things the market already knows: EHI is increasingly accessed through automation and AI, and “infeasible” has been doing suspiciously heavy lifting in some corners of the ecosystem. If you are an HIE/HIN, a developer of certified health IT, or a provider, these proposed information blocking changes tighten the exception playbook, put contract gating on notice, and make it harder to hide a “no” behind nicer paperwork.

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From Dragging Feet to Dragged Along: The Uneven March Into TEFCA

From Dragging Feet to Dragged Along: The Uneven March Into TEFCA

by | Aug 8, 2025 | , , , ,

On August 6, 2025, ONC unveiled the first public TEFCA Organizational Map, a tool that makes it possible to see which health systems are stepping into the national interoperability framework—and which are not. For some, this marks a milestone in transparency and progress; for others, it raises questions about strategy, governance, and whether more national data sharing is always a good thing. The uneven pace of adoption, particularly among Epic’s vast customer base, shows just how complicated the march into TEFCA has become.

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Audacious Inquiry Sues CRISP: A Patent Showdown with National Interoperability Implications

Audacious Inquiry Sues CRISP: A Patent Showdown with National Interoperability Implications

by | Jul 15, 2025 | , , ,

Audacious Inquiry has filed a patent infringement suit against CRISP, Maryland’s state-designated HIE. At issue are core encounter notification and care coordination tools that providers nationwide rely on daily. With high-stakes infrastructure and TEFCA participation on the line, the outcome could reshape how HIEs balance public good with private innovation.

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Does the TEFCA Exception Hinder Participation?

Does the TEFCA Exception Hinder Participation?

by | Jun 9, 2025 | , , , , ,

HHS has opened the door to one of the biggest questions in health information law: should the TEFCA exception to the information blocking rules stay or go? The May 16, 2025 RFI asks whether this carve-out encourages participation in TEFCA or instead creates confusion and double standards for networks like Carequality, which already impose requirements stricter than HIPAA. With comments due June 16, stakeholders have just days to weigh in on a decision that could reshape the balance between nationwide interoperability and local control.

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TEFCA Anticipated to Grow in 2025

TEFCA Anticipated to Grow in 2025

by | Jan 6, 2025 | , ,

Since TEFCA went live in December 2023, eight (8) organizations have been designated as Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs). Each QHIN is a large information network that represents up to hundreds of HINs, health systems, public health agencies, payers, and IT vendors. Epic and Carequality recently announced that they would align their frameworks with TEFCA. TEFCA’s growth will be further supported by regulatory measures to incentivize network participation, such as the Information Blocking Rule.

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