The nation’s largest post-acute electronic health records provider has formally said it will appeal a federal injunction against it because the ruling “gives … a backdoor” into its system.

As a result, the analytics firm that filed suit’s use of automated bots compromises the platform’s security, PointClickCare said. 

The company filed a notice of appeal Thursday in the US District Court for Maryland. An injunction from July 29 handed a significant win to Real Time Medical Systems, which had sued PointClickCare alleging that it blocked access to certain patient EHR information to gain a competitive advantage in the analytics arena. Real Time actually regained access before the ruling was handed down as a PCC concession during early legal proceedings. 

Real Time has said that without permanent relief and no way to know whether it would be blocked from EHRs again, it could collapse.

PCC insists it has a right and a need to limit access.

“The ruling … gives RTMS a backdoor exception to our security policies that negatively impacts our system’s integrity and performance,” a spokeswoman for PointClickCare said in a statement emailed to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Friday. “The ruling is not only bad for our customers, patients, and caregivers but also sets a dangerous precedent for the healthcare industry.”

The case will now move to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

PCC characterized the injunction as “narrowly drawn” and noted, “We’re banning potentially malicious bot use – not blocking information.” It also pointed out that federal Judge Paula Xinis noted that the company had already suspended certain kinds of CAPTCHAs for RTMS.

Real Time said previous relief from PCC has been spotty. The company uses its clients’ EHR data to identify how they can improve outcomes, such as by detecting early signs of infection, automating antibiotic surveillance and reducing readmissions. When it filed its case, Real Time Founder Scott Rifkin, MD, told McKnight’s that blocking access to that data ran counter to the 21st Century Cares Act and its requirements to improve interoperability.“

“Most EMR companies work great with us,” Rifkin told McKnight’s, noting partnerships with at least 10 other electronic records providers. “PointClickCare used to work fine with us. Then they started producing products that compete with us. Suddenly, they couldn’t give us the data anymore, and they upfront told us that.”