The 21st Century Cures Act and Information Blocking Requirements

April 2nd, 2021

The 21st Century Cures Act and Information Blocking Requirements


Dear Valued Clients:


The 21st Century Cures Act and the Cures Act Final Rule

As you may be aware, the 21st Century Cures Act was adopted December 13, 2016, and a final rule in connection with the Cures Act (the “Cures Act Final Rule”) was issued by the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) in May of 2020.  The Cures Act Final Rule included a number of requirements that are applicable to ICS Software, our clients and other similar entities. Specifically, the Cures Act Final Rule includes a prohibition on “information blocking” that becomes effective on April 5, 2021. For additional information regarding the Cures Act and Cures Act Final Rule, please visit ONC’s webpage dedicated to these new standards at https://www.healthit.gov/curesrule/.  


Information Blocking

ICS Software has been working diligently to plan for and complete updates to our systems that we hope will help our providers with their compliance efforts.  These changes include enhancements to our patient portal functionality to ensure that our clients are able to provide a wider range of results, notes and similar health information to their patients promptly as is required by these new rules and will be available by the April 5, 2021, compliance deadline.


For more information about the Information Blocking provisions, visit the ONC website at https://www.healthit.gov/topic/information-blocking. 


Waiver of Certain Customer Agreement Provisions

The Cures Act Final Rule also included a number of other requirements that are applicable to ICS Software, your practice and our other clients, including requirements that apply to our relationship with your practice or group. Our agreement with you permits us to unilaterally waive our right to enforce any provision of that agreement in writing. Accordingly, pursuant to this communication, we are notifying you that we are waiving the following provisions of our agreement with you in light of the Cures Act and Cures Act Final Rule.  

  • Communications: We hereby waive any provision to the limited extent that it prohibits or restricts any communication in a manner that conflicts with the Cures Act Final Rule’s Communications Condition of Certification (“CoC”) at 45 C.F.R. § 170.403(a).  For the avoidance of doubt, we will not enforce any communication to you or any of our agreements with you to the limited extent that they may conflict with the CoC. All other terms and conditions of any such communications and agreements remain in full force and effect.  

  • Suspension of Access: We hereby waive any rights to suspend your practice’s access to SammyEHR and other ICS Software or Modernizing Medicine products or services if such suspension would result in your group or practice having no means to electronically access (e.g., read-only access) Client Data; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not be read as a waiver of our right to terminate our agreement with you in accordance with its terms or to assert claims or exercise other rights available to us.


Should you have questions or concerns about your practice’s rights and obligations under the Cures Act or Cures Act Final Rule, you may wish to consider consulting your practice’s health care attorney. 


Sincerely,

The ICS Software Team

A Part of the Modernizing Medicine Family