Why easy access to electronic medical records is crucial for providers and patients

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Why Easy Access to EHR Is Crucial for Providers and Patients

The EHR is expected to ease processes such as medical record retrieval. This article highlights why easy EHR access is crucial for provider & patient.

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Electronic medical records were introduced in the United States with a view to improve access and care coordination, and also to ensure better quality care and patient satisfaction.

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expected to facilitate important processes such as medical record retrieval that has both medical and legal significance. However, a major concern that still remains is the lack of easy access.

Major Roadblocks to Easy Access The need to obtain patient data and clinical information from multiple disparate systems often result in fragmented care-team workflows. This creates problems in terms of disruption of the smooth flow of care provision, and patients end up with the feeling that the clinician is more focused on the EHR than on them. Patients also need access to their healthcare information, which should have been made easy by the electronic health record, but a study made by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has found that patients still face challenges in accessing their healthcare information. The agency studied medical record release information and forms from 50 large health systems and hospitals in 32 states. They also interviewed 17 consumers to understand their experiences and challenges in accessing their medical records. The HIPAA Privacy Rule allows consumers to inspect, review and receive a copy of their medical records. The ONC says that the medical record request process can be confusing for patients; moreover, the process is not often available electronically. It has been found that patient portals may not always include all the information patients need, and the data available is often inaccurate or incomplete.

Another study by Ambra Health found that 1 in 3 patients in the U.S. cannot easily access their medical records. This survey was made on more than 1000 patients, and focused on medical record access and the current healthcare system. Ambra Health considers their survey representative because it was conducted online by Toluna Group among 1,136 U.S. respondents above 18 years of age who had received medical imaging services. This sampling enabled them to survey a population who had engaged with their healthcare provider.

The Empowered Patient and Demand for Medical Record Access Patients are empowered now and expect their healthcare providers to interact with them digitally, just as any other modern business. Patients make decisions on their care based on how well practices and hospitals are using digital tools to meet their requirements. In fact, Ambra Health’s study found that an awesome 73% of healthcare consumers indicated they

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would like all their medical data to be accessible online. Many patients do not have easy access to their medical records because they are stored and maintained with multiple providers.

Ambra Health found that the younger the patient, the more relevant medical record access becomes.

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80% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 mentioned ease of medical record access and scheduling as a major consideration.

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Only 52% of those ages 55 and older mentioned this as a key consideration.

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Millennials are better at keeping detailed notes of their medical history than any other age group of respondents. They maintained blood test results, diagnostic imaging, physician notes, prescriptions, and vaccine records at an average rate of 65%.

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Only an average of 40% Baby Boomers maintained the above mentioned records.

Patient Health Record Access -- Advantages What are the advantages of enabling easy access to patient healthcare data?

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For patients looking for a second opinion on their condition, or want to see a specialist, having uninterrupted access to their medical records including lab tests and medical imaging is vital.

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When medical records are made accessible to patients, it enables them to understand their medical conditions. For example, smokers who are provided with a copy of their medical condition and progress note are more likely to identify smoking as a problem than those who don’t have access to their medical records.

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Knowledge of their medical conditions also persuaded patients to follow medication recommendations and make lifestyle changes.

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It can enhance patient-doctor communication and ensure a better provider-patient relationship.

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Easy digital access to medical records is especially beneficial for patients concerned about what might be hidden in their medical chart. When all data is revealed to them, it helps improve patient satisfaction.

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The ED Scenario – EHR Interoperability Is Crucial Easy accessibility and interoperability are indispensable for EHRs, especially in emergency situations in emergency departments. Large-scale disasters such as the fires in Northern California, the hurricanes in Houston, Puerto Rico and the entire Southeast, and the shooting in Las Vegas emphasize the importance of ensuring emergency personnel easy access to electronic health records. Injured persons admitted to the ED after a catastrophe are not in a position to supply the vital health records, and treating personnel need to know their medication history and chronic conditions immediately. In fact, during the 10 days after Hurricane Harvey hit the U.S., the vice president of interoperability at Epic Systems, Dave Fuhrmann says he observed a 75% increase in the exchange of medical records between Houston and Dallas, to which many victims had been evacuated. In fact, accessibility and interoperability of patient health records can help ensure that appropriate care is provided in a timely manner and even save lives. For people who are away from their home station also, interoperability will prove to be a boon because it will make their medical data available to the new providers.

Patient Health Record Access Remains Tough at Point-of-care At the point-of-care itself, many clinicians find it challenging to obtain the required patient data. Some electronic medical record systems still require access through a workstation-onwheels (WoW) or desktop though in recent years many healthcare providers have started utilizing smart phones and tablets that are in keeping with clinicians’ increasingly prevalent mobile work-styles. Health IT vendors also offer more mobile apps that integrate with the EHR and other clinical communication systems including patient monitoring devices, alerts, and nurse call among others. The focus is on consolidating diverse hardware and software functionalities on one device, thus enabling care providers to return to a natural workflow.

Nevertheless, mobile implementation has not been smooth in many organizations with adoption rates remaining below expectations. Reasons include the following.

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Clinicians are not included in IT related discussions that may have an impact on them

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Clinicians may not be adequately trained on the chosen solution

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Mobile technologies introduced may rely on disparate systems, and this could slow the time spent documenting or retrieving relevant patient data. This is because the care giver will have to open and close many apps that are not integrated into one communications platform.

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Healthcare systems can provide mobile solutions that accept verbal information and also map to discrete data within an EHR (i.e. an integrated solution that includes voice-enabled dictation), which will relieve the user from manually adding or extracting data from disparate systems.

Digital Access Valuable to Provider and Patient Since digital access to health records is cost-saving, facilitates the provision of medical review solutions and such other services, and ensures timely delivery of care, it is valuable for healthcare providers and systems. To optimize EHR advantages, providers must strive to increase their digital presence and ensure excellent patient experiences online such as scheduling, and virtual care. They could also consider offering family share options and easy online access for effective management of medical records. They should ensure the highest standards of data security to protect sensitive PHI (protected health information). It is a good sign that medical record access is improving across the nation, with leading institutions innovating to deliver accurate and complete digital records to patients. This is expected to be truly beneficial by creating the educated and empowered patient who will engage more seriously in their care. With easier provider and patient access to valuable healthcare data, better outcomes will surely follow.

www.mosmedicalrecordreview.com

(800) 670 2809