CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken decisive action to curb information blocking—an issue the American Medical Association (AMA) has long prioritized as a critical barrier to patient care and physician efficiency. In a significant move last week, HHS enforcement framework under the 21st Century Cures Act outlines how the department will investigate and penalize entities that interfere with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information.
Under the new policy, the HHS Office of Inspector General is authorized to impose civil monetary penalties of up to $1 million per violation against developers of electronic health records (EHRs), health information networks, and other actors that engage in information blocking. The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy / Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) also will play a key role in investigating complaints and referring violators for enforcement.
This announcement comes after years of sustained AMA advocacy calling for real, enforceable consequences for those who profit from digital roadblocks in care delivery. HHS Secretary Kennedy has directed increased resources to support enforcement activities, sending a clear message that obstruction of appropriate data sharing will no longer be tolerated. The AMA is urging HHS to prioritize actions against repeat-offender EHR developers and health information networks that use technical, legal, or financial levers to thwart exchange. If warranted, termination from certification should be used.
“With decisive enforcement and AMA’s continued advocacy, information blocking can finally give way to the data liquidity patients deserve and physicians need,” said AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, M.D. “Once a tolerated industry practice, information blocking is now a target for real accountability. And that means better, faster, safer care for patients.”
When essential clinical information—such as test results, progress notes, or discharge summaries—is inaccessible due to artificial technical or legal barriers, patient safety suffers. Delays in care multiply. Duplicative testing and fragmented communication drain physician time, raise costs and increase burnout. HHS’s enforcement policy is a critical step toward making the promise of interoperability real in exam rooms and at hospital bedsides—not just on paper.
"Information blocking is not just a technical nuisance. It’s a direct threat to safe, coordinated, high-quality care," Mukkamala said. "This enforcement framework is the clarity physicians and patients have been waiting for. We welcome this step and will work with HHS to ensure swift, even-handed enforcement that ends portal runarounds, reduces phone-and-fax scavenger hunts, and gets complete records into the EHR in time to support real-time decision making.”
The AMA urges developers and networks to come into compliance now, fix known barriers quickly, and support physicians and patients with open, standards-based exchange of health information. Physicians should document incidents and report suspected blocking through ASTP/ONC’s portal. HHS should make this process easy and offer explicit protection for physicians and staff who report blocking so clinicians can speak up without fear of retaliation.
The AMA also urges HHS to offer compliance guidance and focus on corrective action plans so physicians are not caught up in the complexity of the new regulations.
Media Contact
About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
