Open notes compliance date extended to April 5, 2021
Today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) announced they are extending the compliance dates and timeframes necessary to meet certain requirements related to the program rule on Interoperability, Information Blocking, and ONC Health IT Certification. This announcement changes the compliance date for when patients must be provided access to all the health information in their electronic medical records from Monday, November 2, 2020 to Monday, April 5, 2021.
OpenNotes hopes the organizations that have been working hard to comply by November 2, 2020, still choose to do so—or use this extra time to plan for a robust implementation of the Rule that includes clinician and patient education about the shared value open notes can bring.
The change announced by HHS/ONC does not affect the 53 million patients who already have access to their notes. Additionally, organizations choosing to “go live” with open notes before April 5, 2021, are being recognized on the OpenNotes map.
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If your organization implements open notes before April 5, 2021, |
OpenNotes has helped more than 250 organizations across all 50 states invite their patients to read their “open notes.” We will continue to study the effects of shared clinical notes on patients, care partners and clinicians, disseminate our findings, and offer tools, resources and education through opennotes.org.
Stay up to date on how the ONC Cures Rule and its impact on open notes.
About OpenNotes
OpenNotes, based at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a major Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, studies the effects of shared clinical notes on patients, care partners and clinicians, and disseminates its findings. OpenNotes works with collaborators around the country and overseas to foster and evaluate the spread and implementation of shared clinical notes (“open notes”). OpenNotes does not develop software and is not a technology company. It is funded entirely by federal and philanthropic grants and gifts. To learn more, visit www.opennotes.org.
