AMA responds to ONC's report on electronic health records data sharing

"The AMA is pleased that policymakers are addressing the challenges of sharing data, such as data lock-in and the cost prohibitive practices of vendors. We also believe aspects of the Office of the National Health IT's (ONC) recently proposed certification rule will increase transparency in EHR capability and costs and will help align the health IT market with physician consumer needs.

"We generally agree with most of the findings of the new report by ONC, as it echoes a lot of the concerns we've been hearing from physicians, in particular, the cost and technological barriers to information exchange. However, we have concerns with some of the solutions suggested by ONC.