“Federal officials on Monday released groundbreaking rules that will let patients download their electronic health records and other health care data onto their smartphones…”
“Officials said the rules likely will give patients a greater say in health care decisions and put an end to a long-standing practice in which some doctors and hospitals resist handing complete medical files over to patients upon demand. Many of the provisions are set to take effect in 2022…”
“Yet the new rules also have raised concerns about privacy as technology companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon, open up new markets for providing medical records through mobile apps. Major EHR vendor Epic, for instance, has warned that freer flow of medical records could spur the unwanted sale of data or other unauthorized uses…”
“Administration officials said they have taken privacy considerations into account and would require developers to attest to plans to protect the security and use of medical data.”
“Verma took a swipe at Epic in an interview with KHN and Fortune.”
“’We’re not afraid to take on special interests to do what’s right for patients. Some people disagree because they want to keep the data,’ she said. ‘The reality is that patient data belongs to patients. It doesn’t belong to EHR companies.'”
“Verma said the nation’s health care system remains ‘hugely expensive and inefficient as repeat tests drive up costs and, perhaps most importantly, doctors are forced to provide care with an incomplete clinical picture, especially at a time when the health care systems could be under stress.'”
“’With the handling of the COVID virus, the urgent need for coordinated integrated care could not be clearer,’ she said.”
“… Consumers have long sought to be more in the loop on health care decisions in a user-friendly form. Many specifics about how that will happen, including how patients would make sense of complex pricing policies for purchasing health care and insurance and assessing quality, remain unclear, however.” Read the full article here.
Source: New Federal Rules Will Let Patients Put Medical Records On Smartphones – By Fred Schulte and Erika Fry, Fortune, March 9, 2020. Kaiser Health News.
