What does the Infeasibility exception pertain to in the ONC Cures Act?

The Infeasibility exception in the context of the ONC Cures Act pertains to situations where fulfilling a request for access to electronic health information is impossible. This exception allows healthcare organizations to deny requests for information when it is not feasible to provide the requested data under the current circumstances.

This could include scenarios where the data required to fulfill a request is not available due to technical limitations, such as system incompatibilities, resource constraints, or issues with data retrieval processes. By understanding that infeasibility focuses solely on the impossibility of fulfilling requests, healthcare professionals can better navigate the landscape of information sharing under the ONC Cures Act, ensuring compliance while also protecting the integrity of electronic health information systems.

The other options do not align with the specific definition of the Infeasibility exception. For instance, refusing requests due to technical difficulties is more closely related to a temporary operational hiccup, rather than a broader category of infeasibility. Limiting access to patient demographics relates more to privacy and non-discrimination policies, and legal requirements typically concern compliance issues rather than the practicality of fulfilling requests. Each of these serves a different aspect of health information management, but the focus of the Infeasibility exception is strictly on the impossibility of