ONC just dropped four new Information Blocking FAQs on December 19, 2025, and they go straight to the real pressure points: revenue-sharing dressed up as fees, “alternative manner” gamesmanship, and whether automation counts as access. These clarifications matter most where policy meets operations. If you build, sell, operate, or rely on interoperability, this is the set to read.
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.
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.
Carequality’s new Version 3 Framework Policies add stricter requirements than HIPAA and could expose participants to Information Blocking risks. At the same time, TEFCA alignment creates a paradox: practices permitted under the new TEFCA Exception may still be questioned outside of TEFCA. This article unpacks the double standard—and what it means for HINs, HIEs, and nationwide interoperability.
In a decision that will have lasting implications for interoperability and health information exchange, earlier this month Carequality issued its Final Resolution in the dispute between Epic and Particle Health. This follows months of deliberation, multiple rounds of evidence submission, and deep scrutiny of the rules governing data sharing. This latest resolution delivers much-needed clarity on several key concerns—but it also introduces fresh questions around enforcement, reciprocity, and how trusted exchange will continue to evolve.
Effective today, the HTI-1 Final Rule introduces a new TEFCA Manner Exception—potentially a safe harbor for HIEs and HINs under the Information Blocking Rule. But those outside TEFCA may find themselves navigating far narrower exceptions with much higher compliance risk.