New legislation aims to improve health IT transparency and interoperability and follows up on the series of Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearings held this summer.

Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced legislation called the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology--or TRUST IT--Act of 2015. The bill would require the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) develop a rating system for health IT products to measure their performance on interoperability, security and usability.

ONC would be required to publish results from the ratings system to its website. The senators said the ratings would allow consumers to compare health IT products based on their performance. 

The legislation also would establish a process to collect and verify confidential feedback from providers, patients and other users on the performance of health IT products. 

On the vendor front, the legislation would require them to remove nondisclosure clauses from their contracts, report user practices that could hinder interoperability and report on the performance of their products every two years or face fines and possible decertification for failing to do so.

The bill also would authorize the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General to investigate allegations of information blocking and levy fines on those determined to be participating in such practices and require ONC's certification program to ensure health IT products comply with security standards, achieve interoperability and include user-centered designs.

"This bill will establish important safeguards to prevent systems from underperforming and will grade them on their performance--changes that will improve market competition and drive innovation," said Whitehouse.