A bill sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA) to integrate electronic health record (EHR) vendors into the state’s data sharing agreement passed unanimously through the Assembly Health Committee on June 27.

Last year, California published the Data Exchange Framework (DxF), a legal framework intended to support health information exchange between all health and human services organizations throughout California. The framework’s data sharing agreement requires health care entities to make data available to one another upon request. Physician practices and medical groups must comply with its requirements by 2024.

The bill — SB 582, authored by Senator Josh Becker — would authorize the California Health and Human Services agency to create policies and procedures for including EHR vendors in the legal structure of the DxF and incorporate federal standards for the reasonableness of vendor fees. This would allow regulators to crackdown on exorbitant pricing schemes and ensure that vendor practices do not hamper physicians from complying with the DxF.

“The omission of EHR vendors from the Data Exchange Framework creates a moral hazard in which vendors can take advantage of practices and physicians who need their services to comply with state law,” said CMA President Donaldo Hernandez, M.D. “Given EHR vendors’ essential role in complying with the framework, it’s only right that they be included in regulations and adhere to reasonable fee standards.”

SB 582 is part of CMA’s priority bill package for 2023.

CMA has published resources to help physicians understand the new Data Exchange Framework and how it will impact their practices, including fact sheets, FAQs, and on demand webinars.. These resources and more are available at cmadocs.ord/dxf.