By Josh Mast (Oracle Health), Chair, EHR Association Public Policy Leadership Workgroup

As the 21^st Century Cures Act transitions from policy to practice, numerous states are looking at their interoperability and privacy regulations with an eye toward enacting laws governing healthcare and health IT utilization. This includes establishing state health data utilities (HDUs), health information exchanges (HIEs), and data sharing agreements.

The EHR Association supports states’ ability to gather information for public health, population health, and other purposes. However, a patchwork regulatory approach could create unintended roadblocks to the secure national exchange of and access to critical health information.