Technological advances, the development of new online resources and major strides in cybersecurity have enabled many industries to take giant leaps forward in their operational efficiency. Unfortunately, much of the health care industry operates as it did in the 1980s when it comes to storing, managing and sharing electronic health records (EHRs). Many existing EHR platforms have significant interoperability issues that often preclude managing and sharing records between systems. That forces doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and other health care providers to manage records in many of the same ways they did 20 years ago. Medical record ownership is fragmented, and health care providers still use antiquated methods such as faxing and mail to share medical records. This inefficiency has created several problems across the board for both health care providers and patients.
In my experience, most hospitals, doctors' offices and health care providers are still unable to operate in a record-keeping system where a patient's entire medical history can be viewed, shared and stored with the patient as the primary access point. Recent estimates show interoperability issues between current electronic medical health record platforms cost U.S. hospitals more than $30 billion annually, and issues caused by delayed or missing records result in misdiagnoses and other errors that cause more than $750 billion in annual losses.
Issues faced by health care providers due to the lack of availability and difficulty in sharing patient records are widespread. Repetitive and unnecessary testing happens when providers are not able to access recent records from EHR systems outside of their own. Administrative staff in doctors' offices and health care facilities are faced with the time-consuming task of tracking down and obtaining a patient's prior records. And perhaps most significant, the ability of a doctor to properly diagnose and treat a patient in a timely manner is impaired when full information, or a complete medical history, is not readily available.
It's a systemic problem, but more patient involvement can help. Here are a few ways doctors' offices can empower and motivate patients to take control of their medical records:
• Create and distribute an information sheet for patients that clearly explains the process for requesting their records. Make sure patients know what they need to do and how long it will take so they can plan accordingly if they need a record for a visit to a specialist.
• Have patients sign a HIPAA release form that can be kept on file so a new form won't need to be signed with every request.
• Ask patients to provide or update their email address and sign a permission form allowing you to communicate with them via email.
• Survey front office staff to identify problems with the record-sharing process and the types of issues that cause delays so you can address them internally and expedite processing patient requests.
• Survey patients on their record-sharing and management needs and adjust your process accordingly. Try to get a sense of whether patients have the capability to manage digital files.
• Create an information sheet on the different types of secure document management apps available that patients can use to keep digital copies of their medical records safe and accessible.
• Consider asking patients if they would like a copy of their records emailed to them after each visit, which would enable them to begin compiling a digital file cabinet of their records.
• Create a checklist for patients to organize their own process as they begin keeping track of their health records. Include things like listing different doctors and specialists, adding dates of most recent visits, results of lab tests, etc.
No matter the platform or user interface, the ability to share health records readily, easily and securely will have a tremendous impact on the future of the health care industry and its ability to improve the lives of patients.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
