What is the Cures Act? 5 top FAQ answered

1. Why did the Cures Act become law?

Signed into law on Dec. 13, 2016, the Cures Act seeks to ease burdens associated with the use of electronic health records (EHRs) and to advance interoperability — or the ability of systems to share health information. It contains provisions to streamline drug and device delivery, address the opioid crisis, improve mental health services, and research rare diseases.

The Cures Act aims to increase choice and access both for providers and patients — with patients at the center of the legislation. The key to patient control in healthcare is “putting patients in charge of their health records,” according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

2. Does the Cures Act apply to me?

If you’re a healthcare provider, health IT developer, health information exchanges (HIE), or health information network (HIN), you should take note of the Cures Act and its provisions.

The legislation prohibits these “actors” from engaging in information blocking — or actions that prevent or interfere with electronic health information (EHI) access, exchange, or use. (More on information blocking further ahead.)

3. What does the “Final Rule” have to do with the Cures Act?

The Cures Act resulted in Final Rules from two Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies — the ONC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). These agencies produced their respective Final Rules in 2020.

The ONC Final Rule covers information blocking. As the certifying body for EHRs, the ONC lays out related requirements for providers, developers, HIEs, and HINs. It also encourages the industry to adopt standardized application programming interfaces (APIs). To learn more, check out the ONC’s information blocking FAQ here.

The CMS Final Rule for the most part pertains to payers, although it also impacts providers. More specifically, it requires that federal payers employ API functionality to make provider directory information available publicly.

To learn more about the ONC and CMS Final Rules — including differences between them and why each exists — read on.  

4. How do I know what is or isn’t information blocking?

The ONC defines information blocking as a practice by a provider, developer, HIE, or HIN that, except as required by law or specified by HHS as an activity that is reasonable and necessary, “is likely to interfere with access, exchange, or use” of electronic health data.

But in the course of a job, exceptions will emerge. What are these certain instances in which information blocking does not apply? The ONC provides key conditions of eight exceptions.

8 information blocking exceptions 

• Preventing harm 
• Privacy 
• Security  
• Infeasibility 
• Health IT performance 
• Content and manner 
• Fees 
• Licensing 

 Among the eight information blocking exceptions, the first five (1-5) describe scenarios that involve not fulfilling requests to access, use, or exchange EHI. The final three exceptions (6-8) involve processes for fulfilling requests to grant access, use, or exchange EHI.

5. Where can I get Cures Act training and resources?

The ONC dedicated a page to its Cures Act Final Rule, and CMS has posted information about its Final Rule. ONC also offers webinars discussing what providers need to know about information blocking, answering information blocking FAQ, and more.

Another great resource for Cures Act knowledge and guidance is the 21st Century Cures Academy. This information hub offers webinars, readings, and additional FAQ. Here you can also access a timeline of key Cures Act dates, which will be a valuable resource as deadlines approach.

Your Cures Act quick guide (key dates through 2023): 

• April 5, 2021: Information blocking applicability date 
• Oct. 6, 2022: Definition of EHI is no longer restricted to EHI identified by USCDI-represented data elements 
• Dec. 31, 2022: New HL7 FHIR API capability and other update criteria must be available 
• Dec. 31, 2023: Capability for EHI export must be available 

View a detailed timeline on the ONC website.

As you can see, Cures Act deadlines are coming up quickly. Fortunately, there are a variety of resources available to help you stay informed, aware, and prepared.