21st Century Cures Act: Establishment of Disincentives for Health Care Providers That Have Commited Information Blocking

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed disincentives for information blocking. As the professional home of the leading experts in safe health exchange and interoperability, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) appreciates the opportunity to serve as a resource to the Department.  AMIA currently stands by our Health IT Data Standards & Interoperability Policy Principle, which clearly describe AMIA’s support for information sharing through our belief that clinical, research, and health information technology systems must be able to exchange data consistently and, ideally, uniformly.  Additionally, information exchange should be closed-loop, automated, electronic, legible, relevant, timely enough to ensure continuity of care, safe care transitions, incorporated into workflow, and not cost-prohibitive.