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California’s new law, SB 1120, set to take effect on January 1, 2025, regulates how health care service plans (HCSPs) and disability insurers use automated decision-making tools, such as artificial intelligence, to analyze medical necessity in utilization reviews affecting California enrollees. Compared to federal guidelines, this law is more prescriptive, requiring HCSPs and disability

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published its Plan for Promoting Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Automated and Algorithmic Systems by State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments in the Administration of Public Benefits (AI Plan for State and Local Governments). It shows the agency’s current thinking on managing risk from

In the two years since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision from the Supreme Court, state legislatures and courts have attempted to define the new post-Roe landscape in health care. That effort includes actions by states to enact health data privacy laws or to amend existing privacy laws to protect consumer health data

Recent efforts by the federal government to develop a strategy for guiding (and regulating) the use of artificial intelligence (AI) have targeted multiple industry sectors, with healthcare at the forefront. For example, under the President’s recent executive order, in 2024 the Department of Health and Human Services is required to educate itself, publish guidance, and

The health care industry seems to have so much potential for new technologies built on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) technology, such as chatbots that assist patients and/or physicians in patient care and the adoption of tools that expedite the health claims approval process. We have also seen reports documenting some of the problems that can arise

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released earlier this year the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), which is intended to improve electronic interoperability among health information networks (HINs) and facilitate the exchange of health information among connected organizations. 

Importantly, TEFCA is not just about HINs.  Under TEFCA, any organization that connects to a HIN designated as a Qualified HIN (QHIN) may be able to meet many interoperability and information sharing obligations without implementing technology integrations on a request-by-request basis.  ONC believes that TEFCA will “reduce the need for duplicative network connectivity interfaces, which are costly, complex to create and maintain, and an inefficient use of provider and health IT developer resources.” ONC stated that connected organizations “will be able to share information with all other connected entities regardless of which QHIN they choose.” 

However, participation in TEFCA comes with a price.  Organizations that connect to QHINs, either directly or indirectly, will likely need to agree to new contractual requirements that flow-down from QHINs.Continue Reading ONC’s Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA): Impacts on Health Information Networks and Health Care Organizations