Dive Brief:
- Fewer health information exchanges are reporting instances of information blocking as regulators look to crack down on healthcare organizations hindering the free flow of patient data.
- More than 90% of health information exchange organizations said they experienced an instance of potential information blocking in 2019, according to data released this week by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. By 2025, that number had dropped to 71%.
- Additionally, the analysis found most health information exchanges didn’t think information blocking was widespread among hospitals and IT developers, even though some organizations were data blocking often. “This may signal that fewer specific entities may be engaged in potential information blocking, and some share of those entities are consistently doing so routinely,” the report’s authors wrote.
Dive Insight:
Impeding the free exchange of health information was banned by the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016, and regulations prohibiting information blocking went into effect in 2021. Preventing information blocking should ease patients’ and their providers’ access to health data, and improve their care, regulators say.
However, it took several more years before the HHS finalized rules laying out penalties for health IT companies and providers who hinder the flow of health information. Still, the federal government hasn’t yet levied any penalties or enforcement actions, Dr. Thomas Keane, national coordinator for health information technology, told lawmakers in March.
But that could soon change. The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on information blocking, and has issued notices of nonconformity to potential information blockers. IT developers found to be blocking health data sharing could lose their health IT certification from the ONC, and the HHS’ Office of Inspector General could charge information blocking firms hefty fines, Keane said.
And though fewer health information exchanges are reporting instances of potential information blocking over the past six years, some practices continue — including among a smaller group of bad actors, according to the latest ONC report.
Health information exchange organizations said developers of certified health IT were most commonly engaging in information blocking. More than 60% said IT developers sometimes or routinely hindered the flow of health data in 2025, compared with about half of hospitals and health systems, according to the report, which surveyed local, regional and state organizations that supported health data exchange and nonprofit health data utilities.
Fewer health information exchanges experience info blocking
About 60% of exchanges reported that IT developers at least sometimes used fees and pricing to potentially block data sharing last year, down from more than 80% in 2019.
And approximately 1 in 3 health information exchanges said both health systems and IT companies at least sometimes outright refused to share information.
Still, the analysis suggests information blocking practices aren’t widespread. Only 27% of exchanges that experienced any type of potential blocking reported that some, most or all IT developers hindered data exchange, down from 55% in 2019.
Most health information exchanges indicate info blocking isn’t widespread
But the share of health information exchanges routinely experiencing information blocking hasn’t changed over the past six years. From 2019 to 2025, about 1 in 3 that had experienced potential information blocking by an IT company said the behavior was routine, and 1 in 5 said the practice was frequent among hospitals and health systems.
That insight could have implications for policymaking and enforcement, the report’s authors said.
“Deterring the small group of actors who may be engaging in potential information blocking practices [...] could make a substantial impact on improving information exchange activity,” they wrote.
