Former U.S. CTO: Some health IT firms will push back on My HealthE Data

The My HealthE Data initiative announced by CMS at HIMSS18 earned favorable reactions from health IT professionals at the conference. When it comes to actually allowing patients to access and share their health data, however, some companies which profit from the current “friction-filled health data sharing economy” will resist, according to former U.S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra.

Writing for Recode, Chopra said the push announced by CMS would be “fundamental change in the country’s default position when it comes to health data sharing,” though one he favors. There are technical and regulatory challenges—as well as getting patients invested in sharing their data—but he also predicted health IT companies will put up a fight if their bottom lines rely on monetizing patient data.

“Some of those firms will respond in a manner that will violate new rules against 'information blocking,' while others might ​skirt below that threshold while still adding excess transaction fees or threatening developers with intellectual property violations tied to data use,” he wrote.

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