HHS Proposes EHR Certification, Info-Blocking Regs Changes

A proposed rule to update regulations regarding health IT certification criteria and information blocking was published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Dec. 29. Additionally, HHS withdrew its 2024 proposed rule on these topics.

The latest proposals would reduce certification-related burdens for EHR developers, including elimination of AI model card (“nutrition label” style) transparency requirements. These model card requirements were previously intended to help providers understand if EHR-integrated AI models were “fair, appropriate, valid, effective, and safe” by making key information accessible to users about training, validation, and use. For example, a healthcare provider for pediatric patients would be able to access this information to confirm that a predictive decision support feature of their EHR platform was indeed trained and tested with pediatric data.

The proposals also provide clarifications and tightening of information blocking rules. To learn more about information blocking regulations, visit the ACR^® resource page.

ACR is reviewing the latest proposed rule and preparing comments. For more information or to provide input on the proposed rule, contact Michael Peters, ACR Senior Director, Government Affairs, and Lindsay Robbins, ACR Regulatory Policy Specialist.