FAQ Topics: Information Blocking, Fees Exception
Can an actor meet the Fees Exception if it conditions the access, exchange, or use of EHI on the establishment of a revenue sharing agreement?
No. For an actor’s practice of charging fees for access, exchange, or use of EHI to not be considered information blocking under the Fees Exception, the fees an actor charges must not be based on the revenue that the requestor derives or may derive from the access, exchange, or use of the EHI (45 CFR 171.302(a)(2)(ii)). The conditioning of access, exchange, or use of EHI on the establishment of “revenue sharing” or “royalty agreements” with third parties seeking access, exchange, or use of EHI provided by an actor to a requestor that go beyond recovering costs reasonably incurred by the actor to enable the access, exchange, or use of EHI could implicate the information blocking provision (85 FR 25882, 85 FR 25879).