information blockingbriefings.

A half-open steel gate in a corridor with glowing data lines flowing through the narrowing gap, symbolizing shrinking certification scope against expanding data flow.

ONC Narrows Certification as the API Clock Keeps Running

HTI-5 shrinks what health IT certification requires just as CMS-0057-F expands the FHIR surface agentic tools are already calling.

Abstract image of glowing data threads tightening around a half-open vault door, symbolizing AI-driven vendor lock-in in health IT.

AI Features Are Becoming the New EHR Lock-In

As ambient documentation and agentic tools embed into EHR platforms, health systems are trading interface lock-in for AI lock-in, with little contractual protection.

A corridor of sealed glass partitions with a single panel open to light, symbolizing a narrow regulatory opening amid continued restrictions.

The Deregulation That Didn't Touch the Hard Part

ONC's HTI-5 rule cuts health IT certification costs but leaves Cures Act information blocking exposure exactly where it was.

Abstract rendering of data pathways funneling into a layered, locked structure inside a hospital setting, symbolizing contested control over AI data access.

Agentic AI Is Colliding With Information Blocking Law

As EHR vendors build AI stickiness into their platforms, federal rules moving toward autonomous data access expose an unresolved question of who authorizes the agent.

Abstract network diagram showing some nodes losing their connections while others remain linked, symbolizing a shrinking health IT certification scaffold.

HTI-5 Narrows Certification. It Doesn't Narrow Information Blocking Exposure.

ONC's HTI-5 rule strips back health IT certification criteria while leaving Cures Act information blocking obligations fully intact, creating a gap health systems must close themselves.

Abstract image of translucent structural panels being removed from a larger grid, symbolizing regulatory requirements being selectively trimmed.

ONC Trims Certification, Not the Compliance Exposure Behind It

HTI-5 strips functionality-based certification criteria and defers information blocking changes, leaving health systems and EHR vendors to assess their own exposure.

Abstract illustration of a human figure releasing streams of light into a connected network, symbolizing patient data flowing into external AI systems.

When Patients Hand Their Records to an AI Agent, Who Is Governing What Happens Next

Athenahealth and Zocdoc now route patient records into third-party AI agents, and HHS just deferred the rule change that would address it.

Abstract image of a light signal passing through translucent checkpoints toward a human hand, symbolizing AI-moderated patient messages reviewed before reaching a clinician.

The Escalation Contract Patient-Facing AI Actually Needs

Penn Medicine's AI-moderated epilepsy messaging pilot shows the real governance work is designing the human review loop, not picking the model.

Abstract network of glowing translucent pathways converging on a central node, symbolizing control over an autonomous clinical AI agent.

Who Controls the Agent Is the Governance Question, Not Whether It Works

As agentic AI moves into clinical workflows, health systems are letting vendor architecture decide who holds authorization and audit control by default.