Information blocking: what medical practices should know
Information blocking is not an IT-only issue. It is a workflow issue whenever records, portals, faxes, APIs, or AI tools affect access to electronic health information.
The plain-language version
The Cures Act made sharing electronic health information the expected norm. That does not mean every request is automatically fulfilled instantly. It means practices need defensible policies for when data are shared, delayed, limited, or withheld.
Where practices feel it
- Patient portal record requests.
- Outside provider requests for charts, labs, imaging, and notes.
- HIE and TEFCA participation.
- EHR export and API limitations.
- Fax, scanned-document, and third-party app workflows.
- AI tools that summarize or route clinical information.
The operational risk
A practice can have the right legal policy and still fail operationally if records are buried in fax queues, staff do not know the route, or the EHR cannot produce the information in a useful form. Compliance depends on the actual workflow.
Where Layrd fits
Layrd helps practices make records usable: documents are read, matched, filed, and surfaced in clinical context. Cleaner information flow reduces both care friction and compliance friction.
Sources
What is information blocking?
ONC describes information blocking as practices that interfere with access, exchange, or use of electronic health information unless required by law or covered by a regulatory exception.
Who can be an actor?
Information blocking rules apply to health care providers, health IT developers of certified health IT, and health information networks or exchanges.
Do exceptions matter?
Yes. ONC says exceptions are voluntary pathways that give actors certainty when a practice meets the conditions of an exception.
How does this connect to AI?
AI tools that read, summarize, route, or withhold records must be designed so they do not create unreasonable barriers to access, exchange, or use of EHI.
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