Who Owns EHR Data? - InformationWeek

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AliN258,
User Rank: Apprentice
10/30/2014 | 5:25:08 AM

EMR data

My former billing company who also owned our practice EMR has refused to provide us access to the OLD data and has disconnected my staff and my username and access after we changed to a new billing company?

What is the current rules of practice and traditions in such a case?

Thank you

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GaryAk,
User Rank: Apprentice
9/14/2014 | 5:42:23 PM

HIPAA needs to be revised

A patient in many cases has to go through a lot of hoops to get their own records. Having to sign a form every time following a visit or procedure to get one's own records is silly. Having providers not be willing to email or fax electronic records to your home because it is not secure, even when you are willing to waive your 'privacy' rights.

It is a rare doctor that agrees to email back and forth with a patient, relying on some secure, encrypted form of electronic communication that is functionally complex and difficult even for a tech-savvy patient to keep.

HIPAA needs to be amended to allow the option for simpler forms of communications and less barriers to the patient to get their own records electronically or otherwise.

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Alison_Diana,
User Rank: Author
9/10/2014 | 4:48:41 PM

Ownership Records

Interestingly, most people who shared this story on Twitter and then posted their own answer to the headline's question responded, "patients."

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Alison_Diana,
User Rank: Author
9/10/2014 | 4:47:48 PM

Re: Governance and strategy

Yes I think healthcare organizations would be well-served if they move away from focusing so much on compliance (which is, of course, necessary) and focus more on risk-management and transparency, when it comes to data and security. As the South Nassau executive said, patients want more transparency from their healthcare providers -- in terms of cost, access to their own information, and providers' records for safety, etc. -- and those that deliver this information are most likely to succeed over those that continue to make this info hard to find or access. CIOs and their IT teams play an integral role in making this happen securely.

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pfretty,
User Rank: Ninja
9/10/2014 | 11:16:00 AM

Governance and strategy

"The CIO is responsible for creating the foundation for a new culture of transparency." This is such a key component of today's data-laden society. And, its especially true in sensitive field like the medical industry. Going forward organizations need to place more emphasis on developing, nuturing and mantaining data strategies while embrace proven governance tactics. Obviously both will come with maturity, but its the organizations who embrace it early who will surface as leaders.

Peter Fretty

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Laurianne,
User Rank: Author
9/9/2014 | 1:49:20 PM

Re: preferred contact

Medicine is one of the few industries where you still see fax machines in heavy rotation.

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Ariella,
User Rank: Author
9/9/2014 | 12:25:53 PM

Re: preferred contact

@Alison As I said, I don't care for letters, though I have recieved a few from doctors or hospitals, particularly if they wanted to make some official communication prior to or after a particular procedure. But I really thought it was total overkill when a doctor sent a note that the office didn't show that certain tests were done via certified mail. That was a pain, in fact, b/c the mail carrier just left the slip about it in my mailbox without giving me the chance to sign for it. And the slip doesn't even let you know who the sender is. So I had to trek over to the post office the next day to sign for the letter -- as I had no idea what it was or how urgent it may be.

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Alison_Diana,
User Rank: Author
9/9/2014 | 11:55:53 AM

Re: preferred contact

The preference for letters by such a big number of doctors really shows, in my mind, the comfort level some practices have with the old ways of doing things and their discomfort with trying new, more efficient means of communication. When you think about it, letters are expensive: They take time to personalize, print, and stuff into envelopes, and they're expensive over time -- paper, print, envelopes, labels, stamps, and staff time. You also have to ensure patients' mailing addresses are kept current (which billing requires too, of course).

That said, a lot of doctors' offices still rely on fax a lot. In dealing with two specialists recently, I was surprised to learn that one doctor faxed his records over to the other doctor's office; the other doctor, in turn, wanted to send her records back electronically but was forced to fax them back because the first doctor didn't have the capacity to receive them electronically (despite using an electronic health record in his practice). Unsurprisingly, during our first visit to the second specialist, part of my daughter's record was missing because the first doctor's assistant hadn't sent over the complete file.

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Ariella,
User Rank: Author
9/9/2014 | 11:50:24 AM

preferred contact

I'm surprised as many as 13% prefer letters. It seems so inefficient. I'd fall into the majority here with a preference for phone, and email as my second choice.

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