In 2019 the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced an initiative to vigorously enforce the rights of patients to receive copies of their medical records promptly and without being overcharged. Last September OCR also announced its first enforcement action and settlement in its Right of Access Initiative.
Now, to make navigating the federal and state legal requirements surrounding patient electronic access to medical information easier for practices, the American Medical Association (AMA) has created a new online resource to direct physician practices through the complexities and operational challenges of providing patients with access to their digital health information.
The goal of the Patient Records Electronic Access Playbook is to make it easy and efficient for medical practices to integrate record-sharing fulfillment with day-to-day operations. The four-part playbook compiles an extensive catalog of educational information and reference resources with practical tips, case scenarios, and best practices for protecting patients’ privacy while empowering patients and their caregivers with convenient electronic access to their complete medical record.
“As technology plays an increasingly important role in collecting and exchanging health data, the AMA believes that providing patients with improved information access and better information privacy are not mutually exclusive goals,” said AMA Board Chair Jesse Ehrenfeld, M.D., M.P.H., in a statement “Patients deserve both, and the new playbook is an important example of the AMA’s commitment to ensuring patients can easily access their personal health information that has been entrusted to physicians.”
The AMA stresses that patients have the right to access their own medical information and providing patients with electronic access is a step toward improving the overall efficiency of the medical care team.
The playbook offers authoritative information to help medical practices better understand the pertinent laws and how they govern key topics for patient record sharing. These topics include:
- Amounts and types of information
- Forms and formats for sharing records
- Patient requests and involvement of third parties
- Timing for record request fulfillment
- Denial of record request access
- Permissible charges, and
- Confidentiality of substance use disorder records.
The Patient Records Electronic Access Playbook adds to a growing list of AMA resources designed to help physicians navigate and succeed in a continually evolving healthcare environment. In 2018, the AMA launched its first playbook, offering guidance to medical practices on the most efficient path for applying and adopting digital health solutions.
Another great resource is GetMyHealthData, a project of the National Partnership for Women & Families that helps patients and families request their electronic health data and supports providers to redesign information-sharing processes.
