The Sequoia Project Announces Public Webinar: Information Blocking and Interoperability Final Rules Are Here: Now What?

VIENNA, Va., March 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Sequoia Project, a non-profit dedicated to solving health IT interoperability for the public good, today announced it will hold a public webinar titled, “Information Blocking and Interoperability Final Rules Are Here: Now What?” The free session will be held on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EDT.

Those interested in attending can sign up at the following link:  
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4217268513162686221

In 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures) became U.S. law. Cures included landmark provisions to define and promote interoperability; establish or recognize a framework for trusted exchange; revise health IT certification; encourage standards-based, open application programming interfaces (APIs) and eliminate "information blocking."

In 2018-2019, the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued drafts and proposed rules to implement Cures provisions. The information blocking aspects of the rules were finalized in March 2020 and dramatically reshape the U.S. interoperability landscape, enabling broader access to data by patients, their designees and providers while creating sweeping new compliance requirements across the U.S. healthcare system. Cures will also provide competitive opportunities for innovative healthcare organizations and health IT developers.

Before the public webinar, members of The Sequoia Project will get early access to the material and policy experts with a private, virtual event on March 25^th at 12:30 p.m. ET. Members may register here.

“Our intent with this public facing webinar is to ‘connect the dots’ and outline practical, implementation-focused implications of these rule,” said Mariann Yeager, CEO of The Sequoia Project. “We encourage everyone interested in advancing interoperability to attend this session.”

About The Sequoia Project

The Sequoia Project is a non-profit, 501c3, public-private collaborative chartered to advance implementation of secure, interoperable nationwide health information exchange. The Sequoia Project focuses on solving real-world interoperability challenges and brings together public and private stakeholders in forums like the Interoperability Matters cooperative to overcome barriers. Sequoia also supports multiple, independently governed interoperability initiatives, such as the Patient Unified Lookup Service for Emergencies (PULSE), a system used by disaster healthcare volunteers to treat individuals injured or displaced by disasters. The Sequoia Project is also the Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), for which it will develop, implement, and maintain the Common Agreement component of TEFCA and operationalize the Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) designation and monitoring process. For more information about The Sequoia Project and its initiatives, visit www.sequoiaproject.org. Follow The Sequoia Project on Twitter: @SequoiaProject.