Patients don”™t always do what”™s best for them, such as exercising regularly, eating better or sleeping more. It takes effort. But they can do one easy thing to protect their health. They can consent to let their medical records be shared among all of their health care providers: internists, specialists and hospitals, among others.
When providers have access to complete patient records, clinicians can make more informed decisions, avoid duplicate testing, and eliminate unnecessary delays. All of this is good for the patient and good for the health care system, as it improves quality and reduces the cost of care.
Thanks to New York State, providers have the robust Statewide Health Information Network (SHIN-NY) to exchange patient data throughout the state. In the Hudson Valley and the southern tier, our community is connected to the SHINY-NY and to each other via HealthlinkNY, the regional health information network. But the successful use of all this technology hinges on one thing: asking patients to give their consent to share their records.
HealthlinkNY now is launching a consumer education campaign so patients will know how important it is for them to consent to share data among their doctors and others in their provider network. The safety of their data is paramount to us. We make sure patient data are exchanged only with the patient”™s consent and ensure that data are available only to providers who are treating the patient.
Interestingly, most people assume their providers already share their patient data, according to HealthlinkNY consumer research. That”™s not surprising. We live in an age when we can withdraw money from our bank account at any ATM, any place in the world. And with something as vital as health records, most people think surely an emergency room clinician or a specialist should be able to look up their medical histories. After all, Amazon remembers every book or product I”™ve ever bought. Shouldn”™t physicians know everything they can about the patients they treat?
Patients should control their
information
For that matter, shouldn”™t patients be able to look up their health records, too? Yes, according to two Harvard Medical School professors who argued in the The New England Journal of Medicine last month that patients need access to their complete medical records all in one place. Sure, some medical practices have “patient portals” that allow individuals to access records from that practice”™s electronic health records. But patients should be able to access hospital discharge records, diagnostic images and radiology reports, records from specialists, medication records and immunization records, too.
HealthlinkNY is now developing the tool to deliver that power to patients. What”™s more, HealthlinkNY is connected to every other health information exchange in New York state, so that patients will be able to obtain records from any New York state provider connected to a regional health information exchange. More importantly, if patients find themselves in an emergency situation away from home in New York state, the local hospital or doctor can look up their medical histories.
Westchester lags other counties in consent
Fortunately, people who understand what HealthlinkNY can do for them are happy to give their consent. We have seen it in the southern tier of New York, where HealthlinkNY has wide community and provider support. In Broome County, which is in the Southern Tier, 70 percent of the county”™s population of 197,000 has given consent to sharing their records. As we continue our outreach and educational efforts in the Hudson Valley, we expect to dramatically increase the consent rate in Westchester County, now only 1.6 percent of the county”™s nearly 1 million residents.
What patients need to know
In a world where attention spans are shrinking, and people communicate in 140 characters, we are trying to keep our message simple. We want patients to know that:
1. The HealthlinkNY exchange is your link to good health because providers (and you) have access to your complete medical record, anywhere in New York State.
2. You have to fill out a consent form to share records everyplace you go for care.
3. You can opt to share information with any clinician with whom you have a health care relationship or just in a medical emergency.
4. Only doctors, nurses, hospitals and their staff involved in your health care can access your health records and only after you sign a consent form authorizing it.
5. You can request a report of who has viewed your record through HealthlinkNY;
6. Password and encryption safeguards keep records from being accessed without proper permission.
7. If unauthorized access to your record does occur, someone will inform you right away and take steps necessary to ensure such access does not happen again.
Next year, our region”™s hospitals will be required to connect to HeathlinkNY. Area providers participating in the state”™s DSRIP program to improve Medicaid care also have to connect to us. But connecting is not enough. We need patient consent to ensure we can use this technology to make health care more efficient, affordable and better.
So, providers, let”™s start giving patients consent forms to sign. (Call us if you need some.) Sharing medical records is good not only for patients; it”™s good for the health care business ”” and the businesses that pay health care bills, too.
Christina Galanis is president and CEO of HealthlinkNY. She can be reached at 607-651-9150 or cgalanis@healthlinkny.com.
