Electronic health records have been a major change to healthcare. Information Technology specialists all around the country are transforming paper files into digital ones. This helps providers give better service to patients and reduces costs. Though there is something to be said for the quality of access to records. People can give horrible stories about how they’ve had poor experiences with gaining access, even having to pay for the right to gain information about their own health after they’ve already seen the doctor. It should not be difficult for patients to access their own information from their healthcare providers. It can be life or death in some instances.
“…In February 2019 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology proposed two rules to give patients immediate, free, electronic access to their health data” (Forbes). The White House is now reviewing these rules and if approved they would create guidance to allow patients to share their data. They would suggest that healthcare providers not hoard information along with other regulations for hospitals and healthcare providers. But what about privacy?
Records vendors are saying that these proposed rules would violate privacy and intellectual property. Obviously the data needs to be secured and we need to be constantly looking for ways to improve security. But what if banks all of a sudden stopped allowing you access to your money information because they couldn’t be secure? Why should we not raise a fuss about healthcare providers blocking access about our own health if we would drop a bank in a heartbeat blocking access to our money? There has to be a choice to access and let patients assume some of the risk by allowing healthcare providers to do this, digital life is routine today, so should healthcare access. We can’t allow big business to dictate what information about ourselves we have access to, they cannot be allowed to hod the power to our lives.
These proposed rules are important to connecting patients with their data, but it is the right thing to do. It creates responsibility for patients own healthcare and allows self-determination in maintaining those choices. If patients don’t have access to their information,studies have shown it leads to errors as well as unnecessary and expensive treatment. Federal Lawmakers are on the right track in creating legislation for this area of concern. It is time we hold patients accountable for their health information and give them access to that information.
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 