New rules aim to fuel sharing of patient health records by smartphone

The Trump administration announced yesterday that it was moving forward with rules that require insurance companies and health care providers to make health records available in an easily accessible digital format for patients, in much the same way they can now access banking and other sensitive information. These companies had expressed concern that the policy, which was first announced last year, could violate patient privacy. The administration has since tweaked the rules to specify that app developers and other companies looking to use patient data from more accessible health records will have to sign an attestation that they will protect patient privacy. Patients will also have to be clearly informed about how their data may be used by third parties. The rules are scheduled to go into effect in 2022.

STAT’s Casey Ross spoke with CMS Administrator Seema Verma to learn about the new rules and their implications for patients and companies trying to access patient data. STAT Plus subscribers can read their conversation here.