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ABT NEWS
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER 1st Quarter 2016
Architecting document control systems for healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies
Innovating the ROI Process for Patient-Consumers
The HIPAA and HITECH federal health ini3a3ves have become increasingly pa3ent-focused, endowing pa3ents with consumer rights. Now, with the recent shiC from a Meaningful Use agenda focused on EMRs to a Popula3on Health agenda, the idea of trea3ng the pa3ent as a consumer is par3cularly prevalent. This development has already resulted in significant changes in how Providers and pa3ents interact—for example, during the process of fulfilling pa3ents’ requests for their medical records.
Most pa3ents are surprised to learn they do not own their medical records; these records are actually owned by the en3ty that created them. Pa3ents typically only become aware of this fact when they are charged a fee by the Provider to get a copy of their records. While these fees are set by state legislatures to cover the administra3ve costs involved in processing the records request, the majority of Providers do not fully understand the fees nor do they post the fees online or in their wai3ng rooms to educate their pa3ents. Unfortunately, this poorly understood administra3ve task can be the source of significant confusion and frustra3on between Providers and their pa3ents.
To further complicate maPers, law firms, believing that the pa3ent is always en3tled to get records at no charge, ask their clients to request medical records as a means of avoiding paying for the fee themselves. Pa3ents then “get caught in the middle” and tend to direct their frustra3on toward the Provider.
While the process of fulfilling a request for medical records, known as Release of Informa3on (ROI), affects most pa3ents at some point and represents a daily task for many Providers, improving this process has not been a major focus for most Providers. As a result, Providers oCen lack the tools to receive pa3ent requests online or to offer secure online access and payment op3ons for those records. Online pa3ent EMR/EHR portals, on the whole, do not allow pa3ents to ask for and retrieve their en#re medical record—only por3ons. To obtain the en3re record, pa3ents are asked to fill out a medical record request form, sign it, and mail, fax, or hand-deliver it to their Provider.
In busy clinics, staff spend valuable 3me assis3ng pa3ents with medical records requests by taking phone calls, answering ques3ons, making copies, faxing and mailing records, and taking payments. Just as importantly though, in the age of the pa3ent-consumer, pa#ents themselves are being burdened—spending their 3me calling the clinic or dropping by in person to put in requests, check on request status, and pay for and pick up the records.
The good news for pa3ents and Providers alike is that 3mes are changing—and the tools do exist to make the ROI process friendly to pa3ents. Forward-thinking Providers, such as
Spotlight on Our N ew In-house Clients
PANORAMA ORTHOPEDICS & SPINE CENTER
www.panoramaortho.com
For over 70 years, Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center has provided orthopedic care to metro Denver and beyond. With an independent group of over 30 orthopedic surgeons, Panorama is one of the largest orthopedic groups in the US.
Panorama’s doctors are fellowship-trained and focus solely on their highly specialized area. They use the latest technology in minimally invasive surgeries, total joint surgeries, and spinal disc replacement as well as the latest arthroscopic advances for hip, knee, shoulder, spine, ankle, elbow, and wrist injuries.
Panorama’s partnerships bring pa3ents various ancillary and specialty care resources, such as sports performance training at the D1 Athle3c Training Center, the Golden Ridge Surgery Center, OrthoColorado Hospital, Flight for Life, imaging facili3es, physical therapy offices, massage, and acupuncture.
Angela Ford
aford@abtmedinc.com
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