The Rule is applicable to hospitals that meet the electronic health records or administrative system requirements of the content exchange standard Health Level Seven (HL7) 2.5.1. CMS is not requiring hospitals to follow a specific format, but defers to processes already in place or preferred by individual organizations. The notifications may be generated out of the electronic health record system, but may also be sent from hospital registration systems. Notably, those hospitals that have yet to meet content exchange standard requirements are not required to comply with the Interoperability and Patient Access standards at this time.
The Rule requires, at a minimum, that the event notification include the patient’s name, the practitioner responsible for the treatment of the patient, and the name of the institution providing care to the patient. Facilities may choose to provide additional information in the notification, provided they comply with Federal and State law. Hospitals are