When blocking EMR access goes to court: What Real Time’s win means for PACE (and why we’re fired up)
This week’s court decision in Real Time Medical Systems, Inc. (Real Time) v. PointClickCare Technologies, Inc. (PCC) sent shockwaves through the healthcare tech industry, and for good reason. It’s a major step toward the transparency and interoperability PACE programs deserve.
The Real Time case (in brief)
Real Time, a healthcare analytics company serving post-acute providers, accused PCC of deliberately blocking access to patient data by implementing unsolvable CAPTCHAs.
Their claim? PCC wasn’t trying to protect security; they were trying to shut out the competition.
The court agreed.
In what many call a landmark ruling; the court sided with Real Time and granted a preliminary injunction against PCC. The judge found that PCC’s actions were not about legitimate cybersecurity protections, but rather about suppressing competition—a direct violation of the information blocking provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act.
Why the ruling matters
This case sends a strong signal to builders in the healthcare space and reinforces two major truths that the industry should no longer ignore:
1. Interoperability Is not optional
If you are using data to support patient care, you deserve open, non-discriminatory access. Blocking that access, especially in ways that serve a business interest, is not just shady; it’s illegal.
2. Gatekeeping doesn’t fly anymore
There’s growing judicial and regulatory attention on vendors who limit data sharing to maintain dominance. Transparency, fairness, and open data exchange are now legal expectations, not just best practices. The era of turning a blind eye is ending.
A huge thank you to Brendan Keeler for his ongoing coverage of the case and in-depth analysis of this decision. You can check it out on LinkedIn here.
How the ruling impacts PACE
The Real Time v. PointClickCare ruling doesn’t just validate the need for interoperability, it confirms what we’ve always known: PACE programs deserve better.
For far too long, the digital technology experience for PACE staff has been overlooked. Data is siloed or locked away in platforms that don’t play nicely with others. The barriers aren’t just annoying —they obscure insights, create administrative burdens for teams that are already stretched, and slow down care.
Why we are building CareHub
IntusCare was originally focused on analytics, but after working alongside dozens of PACE programs, we keep seeing the same issue:
Limited interoperability, locked-down data, and a digital experience that doesn’t reflect the sophistication of the care being delivered.
That is why we built CareHub, a fully interoperable EMR built with and for the PACE community. CareHub is designed to ensure that:
- Your data flows freely
- Insights come without hurdles
- Your technology works with you, not against you
CareHub is more than just software. It is a digital foundation worthy of the sophisticated care that PACE delivers every day.
Our commitment to PACE
We are unwavering in our mission to support PACE programs with transparent, timely, and actionable data. You deserve tools that work, data that flows, and partners who fight for your ability to deliver great care.
TL;DR
- A federal court just ruled in favor of open access to healthcare data — a big win for interoperability.
- For PACE programs, it’s validation that the data barriers you’ve faced shouldn’t exist.
- IntusCare is building CareHub, a fully interoperable EMR designed to: eliminate data silos, empower teams with timely, actionable insights, and reflect the sophistication of PACE care
- Your care is high-touch. Your technology should be, too.
