The 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule – Fact Sheet
Overview of the Policy
The 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule, enforced by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in 2020, aims to promote interoperability and prohibit information blocking among healthcare providers, health IT developers, and networks (Anhalt et al.2022). It ensures that patients have immediate and unfettered access to their electronic health information (EHI) at no cost.
Impact on System Implementation
The policy mandates significant adjustments to electronic health record (EHR) systems to comply with standardized data exchange frameworks, including the use of HL7 FHIR APIs (Holmgren et al., 2023). Health organizations must invest in upgrading or replacing non-compliant systems and train staff to integrate new functionalities supporting open health information access (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).
Impact on Clinical Care, Patient/Provider Interactions, and Workflow
Clinicians must adapt to increased transparency as patients access clinical notes, lab results, and visit summaries instantly (Vos et al., 2020). This transparency promotes shared decision-making but also demands heightened documentation accuracy and sensitivity. Workflows must evolve to ensure timely completion of clinical documentation, and providers must anticipate proactive patient inquiries based on real-time data access (American Hospital Association, 2020).
Organizational Policies and Procedures
In the healthcare setting, policies have been implemented to ensure compliance, including:
- Mandatory provider education on open notes and patient communication
- EHR documentation standards requiring real-time entry and review
- An internal audit process to monitor compliance with data-sharing regulations
- IT support protocols for maintaining API integrity and security to protect EHI
- Patient education initiatives to guide appropriate EHR portal usage
These policies ensure legal adherence, promote patient-centered care, and minimize organizational risk.
References
American Hospital Association. (2020). American Hospital Association homepage. American Hospital Association. https://www.aha.org/
Anhalt, S. A., Lau, M., Lehmann, C. U., Holmgren, A. J., Medford, R. J., Ramirez, C. M., & Chen, C. N. (2022). The 21st Century Cures Act and multiuser electronic health record access: Potential pitfalls of information release. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(2), e34085. https://doi.org/10.2196/34085
Holmgren, A., Esdar, M., Hüsers, J., & Coutinho-Almeida, J. (2023). Health information exchange: Understanding the policy landscape and future of data interoperability. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1768719
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Vos, J. F. J., Boonstra, A., Kooistra, A., Seelen, M., & van Offenbeek, M. (2020). The influence of electronic health record use on collaboration among medical specialties. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05542-6
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Question 
The 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule – Fact Sheet
As a professional nurse, you are expected to apply your expertise to patient care. On occasion, you will also be expected to share that expertise.
The 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule – Fact Sheet
With evolving technology and continuous changes to regulations designed to keep up these changes, there is usually a need to share information and expertise to inform colleagues, leadership, patients, and other stakeholders.
In this Assignment, you will study a recent nursing informatics-related healthcare policy, and you will share the relevant details via a fact sheet designed to inform and educate.
Resources
- McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Chapter 8, “Legislative Aspects of Nursing Informatics: HIPAA, HITECH and Beyond” (pp. 161–181)
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2018). MACRA/MIPS: The transition from fee-for-service to quality-based reimbursementLinks to an external site.. Retrieved from https://www.aanp.org/legislation-regulation/federal-legislation/macra-s-quality-payment-program
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). MACRALinks to an external site.. Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality-initiatives-patient-assessment-instruments/value-based-programs/macra-mips-and-apms/macra-mips-and-apms.html
- HealthIT.gov. (2018a). Health IT legislationLinks to an external site.. Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/topic/laws-regulation-and-policy/health-it-legislationLinks to an external site.
- HealthIT.gov. (2018b). Meaningful use and MACRALinks to an external site.. Retrieved from
https://www.healthit.gov/topic/meaningful-use-and-macra/meaningful-use-and-macra - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Laws & RegulationsLinks to an external site.. Retrieved September 27, 2018, from https://www.hhs.gov/regulations/index.html
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources on healthcare policy and regulatory/legislative topics related to health and nursing informatics.
- Consider the role of the nurse informaticist in relation to a healthcare organization’s compliance with various policies and regulations, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
- Research and select one health or nursing informatics policy (within the past 5 years) or regulation for further study.
The Assignment: (1 page not including the title and reference page)
Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected. Your fact sheet should address the following:
- Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.
- Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.
- Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.
- Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific.
- Use APA format and include a title page, in-text citations, and reference page.
- Use the Turnitin Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.