BOSTON – April 6, 2021 – Life Image, the world’s largest medical evidence network for clinical and imaging data, today released findings of its survey investigating the healthcare industry’s preparedness to comply with the Information Blocking and Improving Interoperability provisions of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) Final Rule of the 2016 Cures Act, which will be enforced starting April 5, 2021. Findings from the survey, sent in March 2021 to nearly 4,000 clinical, technology and administrative leaders from provider, payer, IT, and other organizations, demonstrate a broad lack of awareness and readiness to comply with the federal information blocking rules, meaning many organizations do not meet basic interoperability standards. The survey also indicates general confusion around the rule requirements and the specific steps organizations must take to prepare.

The final ONC rules aim to improve electronic access, exchange, and use of health information, granting patients ownership of their health data without special effort or additional cost. While 70% of participants in the Life Image survey stated they were aware of the rules going into effect, up to half of the same individuals also reported using practices that are defined by ONC as information blocking and will be noncompliant under the new rules – such as sharing records via paper or CDs, or charging patients fees to obtain records.
Additional notable findings from the Life Image survey include:
• Nearly half of the respondents had either not made any changes or did not know how to ensure their facility meets all of the rule requirements

• A majority of healthcare organizations reported not using digital solutions to share healthcare data with patients, with 66% still using paper and 32% using CDs
• 47% were not familiar with the term “information blocking”
o 48% were not aware of practices or policies that would be considered “information blocking”
• 39% did not know they could incur civil monetary penalties for information blocking practices
• 15% currently charge $25 or more for patients to obtain records

“Our recent survey validates what Life Image has been witnessing across the healthcare ecosystem in terms of interoperability readiness. While the COVID-19 pandemic created massive challenges and delayed many interoperability initiatives, it also underscored the paramount importance of the final ONC rules for advancing patient care and driving innovation,” said Matthew A. Michela, President and CEO, Life Image. “As many organizations are facing a long, complicated journey to ONC compliance, we’re dedicated to helping the industry navigate this new data revolution.”

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