Sequoia Project, AHIMA and HCPro launch information blocking training

The Sequoia Project, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and healthcare compliance publisher HCPro have jointly launched a role-specific online training series aimed at helping healthcare organisations build workforce-wide compliance with the US federal information blocking rule. The series is available immediately as individual courses or as an enterprise bundle.

The federal information blocking rule prohibits interference with the access, exchange or use of electronic health information. Enforcement authority is now active, with nearly 2,200 complaints filed through the federal portal and civil monetary penalties reaching up to $1 million per violation. The three organisations say that combination of financial exposure and enforcement momentum makes workforce training a business-critical priority rather than a back-office checkbox.

What the training covers

The series comprises four self-paced online courses, each built around the specific responsibilities and risk exposures of a distinct staff group: compliance personnel, release-of-information staff, clinical staff, and registration and front-office staff. The organisations say the courses were designed from the ground up for information blocking scenarios rather than adapted from adjacent compliance disciplines.

Chantal Worzala, vice president of strategy and engagement at The Sequoia Project, framed the launch in terms that go beyond regulatory mechanics. "Information blocking compliance is not just a regulatory obligation; it is a cultural shift toward transparency and patient empowerment," she said. "This collaboration brings together the policy, operational, and educational expertise needed to support that shift."

Jennifer Mueller, senior vice president of health information career advancement at AHIMA, added that the series is intended to give health information professionals "the clarity, confidence, and tools they need to navigate complex requests, apply exceptions appropriately, and support organisational compliance."

Regulatory and market context

The information blocking rule sits under the 21st Century Cures Act and is administered by the HHS Office of Inspector General, which gained civil monetary penalty authority after a phased implementation period. The Sequoia Project serves as the Recognised Coordinating Entity for ONC's Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), giving it a formal policy role in interoperability infrastructure alongside its involvement here as a training co-developer.

Compliance training for information blocking is a relatively nascent but rapidly expanding category. Healthcare organisations have historically relied on internal health information management teams or general compliance vendors to address the rule, but the activation of penalty authority in recent years has prompted a wave of more specialised commercial offerings. This launch positions AHIMA and its subsidiary HCPro squarely in that space, leveraging AHIMA's credentialing authority and HCPro's four decades of healthcare regulatory publishing to differentiate from generalist compliance training providers.

The timing is deliberate. Regulators have signalled that complaint volumes are rising and that enforcement actions are likely to become more visible over the near term, creating an incentive for health system leadership to demonstrate proactive workforce preparation. Organisations that can show documented, role-specific training are likely to be better placed when responding to OIG inquiries or audit requests.

The courses are priced individually; enterprise bundle pricing is available through AHIMA's global sales team.