Interoperability efforts seek to engage patients
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| Beth Walsh, Editor, CMIO |
The Direct — Laboratory Reporting workgroup, comprised of representatives from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and several other nonprofit and for-profit organizations, considered existing CLIA requirements, Department of Health and Human Services guidance and the goals of the Direct Project, an ONC initiative to create secure transmission standards for encrypted health data.
Meanwhile, patients on average receive only one-half of recommended preventive services but patients who used an interactive PHR linked to their clinicians’ EHRs increased their likelihood of receiving preventive care. An intervention group of patients who used a PHR addressing 18 preventive care services were more likely to be up to date with all recommended services.
Based on the results, researchers believe that integrating intelligent PHRs into clinical practice and encouraging patients to use them would positively affect preventive care rates. In addition, an effective system could reduce burdens on providers by removing preventive care from clinical environments and reducing time necessary for administrative tasks like scheduling.
Also on the more-involved patient front, the ONC issued a policy brief covering the barriers still preventing access to personal health information.
“Many individuals are unaware of their legal right to ask for a copy of their health information from their providers,” wrote the brief’s author, Jamie Skipper, RN, PhD. While HIPPA, the HITECH Act, EHR incentive programs and other initiatives have somewhat alleviated the barriers to receiving personal health information, others remain. Patient identification, privacy concerns with PHRs and incompatibility between PHRs and EHRs make delivering sensitive information to the right person difficult for providers.
“The ONC has been working with federal, state and private partners to leverage current legislation and regulations to design health IT policies and programs that enhance individuals’ electronic access to their information in a timely manner,” Skipper wrote.
Is your facility working to increase patients' access to their health records? Please share your experience.
Beth Walsh
CMIO Editor
bwalsh@trimedmedia.com
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.