medical records Archives

Tag Archive for: medical records

October 2021 Digital Health Roundup

October 21, 2021/in PEN Blog /by Jennifer Lessinger

The popularity of telemedicine is being embraced by insurance companies, and for now, the best place to identify skin cancer is still at the dermatologist’s office. Patients are concerned about privacy threats when it comes to technology in healthcare, and it turns out they have good reason to be. Fortunately, there are things being done to address the issue.

Privacy of Medical Records

A new survey shows that patients are concerned about privacy of medical records and the use of facial recognition technology in healthcare, reports upi.com. A large portion of the survey respondents perceive facial recognition technology as a privacy threat, but the use of the technology in healthcare has increased over the past few years as a way to prevent medical errors and provide extra security. With nearly 60 percent of respondents saying they are concerned about the security of these technologies, researchers are tasked with gaining public trust by increasing protections of healthcare information. Find more information here.

It seems that patients have reason to be concerned. Ransomware attacks are having negative effects on patient care, reports fiercehealthcare.com. A new report shows that ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations can lead to longer stays, delays in care leading to poor outcomes, and increases in patient transfers. The ransomware attacks are also linked to increased mortality rates. The report emphasizes the importance of increasing cybersecurity in healthcare to protect patients. Learn more about the report findings here.

Cybersecurity

Recognizing the cybersecurity vulnerabilities in healthcare, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a best practices document as a resource for the healthcare industry, reports healthcareitnews.com. The document focuses on developing a cybersecurity communication strategy and offers aspects to consider in the event of a security breach. The FDA also plans to address medical device vulnerabilities so that patients who are dependent on medical devices will know what kinds of questions to ask their healthcare providers regarding the security of their devices. Get more information here and see the FDA best practices document here.

The U.S. Government is also investing in the future of information technology in public health, reports thehealthcaretechnologyreport.com. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has an initiative that will help to develop the health information technology workforce and will help to increasing the number of workers in the field from underrepresented communities. With funding from the American Rescue Plan, ten universities that serve diverse communities have cooperative agreements to build up the healthcare technology workforce over the next four years. Learn more about the initiative and the ten institutions that are participating here.

Skin Cancer App Fails

A setback for healthcare technology occurred recently when a flaw in a direct-to-consumer app used to detect skin cancer was identified at a European annual meeting of dermatology, reports medicalxpress.com. Researchers found that the app, which is available in Europe, incorrectly classified more than 60 percent of benign lesions as cancerous, and almost 18 percent of Merkel cell carcinomas and almost 23 percent of melanomas as benign. The problem appears to be that the app depends on available images to determine the status of a lesion, but there are not enough images of rare skin cancers available for better accuracy. Find more information here.

Telemedicine

If you love virtual visits to the doctor, you are in luck! Insurers are now offering new types of health coverage specifically for telemedicine, reports modernhealthcare.com. Some insurance companies have plans that require online visits for nonemergency care. The plans tend to have lower premiums and patients select a doctor for their virtual visits who can refer patients to in-person doctors within the network if needed. However, there is some concern that virtual care as the primary means of care may not be ideal. The concern is that things might get missed, like early signs of disease that a doctor would not be able to pick up on through a virtual visit. Learn more about the new type of insurance plans here.

Jennifer Lessinger

Jennifer Lessinger is a professional writer and editor who learned the value of patient empowerment during her struggle with a hard-to-diagnose and complex endocrine disorder.

What Key Questions Should CLL Patients Ask About Digital Tools Born Out of COVID?

May 14, 2021/in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, CLL Access and Affordability, CLL Best Care, CLL Best Care Experts, CLL Newly Diagnosed, CLL Programs, CLL Videos AA, CLL Videos ND, Patient Empowerment, PEN Blog /by Kara Rayburn

What Key Questions Should CLL Patients Ask About Digital Tools Born Out of COVID? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are some key questions that chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients can ask about digital tools for their CLL care? Dr. Kathy Kim from UC Davis School of Medicine offers advice on questions to ask and explains important use factors about some technologies.

Related Resources:

What Multi-Language Technology Innovations Are Available for Cancer Patients and Families?

How Can CLL Patients Avoid Pandemic Challenges Without Compromising Quality of Care?

How Can CLL Patients Mitigate Distance and Technology Barriers to Care?

Transcript:

Dr. Kim:

Patients should be advocates and they should ask, what can you give me that can help me through this process, and what tools do you have for me to communicate and stay connected with my doctor? So, you should ask, are there ways for me to get in touch that are not calling, just when the clinic is open, do you have a secure messaging system? Can I message through the patient portal? Do you have an app that’s available for that patient portal that I can download? Do you have any other research studies where they’re trying as the same way you said patients should ask other clinical trials, are there research studies using technology for cancer patients? So as much as outreach as we do to try to recruit patients into our technology trials, oftentimes somehow patients don’t hear about it, so if you ask and you’re interested, is there a study like that where I can get access to technology to try it out, to see if it will help. So, you should definitely be an advocate, but I think some specific tools that patients should be asking about that are already available are things like, how can I get an electronic copy of my care plan? Can I get that through the portal or do you have an app where I can download my actual care plan? How do I get electronic copies of my medical records?

Where can I get them? And how can I store them safely? How can I connect to other patients in my area? Do you have an online patient support group? Do you have any services at the hospital where you connect patients like me as close as possible to the kind of patient I am, that you can make a match for me to talk to someone by using either ZOOM like this or an online support group or just one-on-one match maybe introducing by email. These are all technological tools that already exist that are not, that should not take a huge amount of time for someone to learn a new technology, but you want to make sure that it’s something that your hospital and your provider feel comfortable have tried and know that it’s secure and safe and useful. You don’t wanna go off and do something that your provider has no connection to it, you really wanna keep these as integrated as possible, and in that way, I think in the future, we won’t just rely on Mr. Marks, you have to come in to the hospital for every single thing. We want to give you all these tools, and then you and your doctor can decide which things you really have to come in person for and which things you can access online.

And so that is the conversation that every time you go talk to a new provider or go to a new hospital or clinic, you should ask, what technologies do you have that are available to the patients? And that that’s how I think we’re gonna push forward our new model of cancer care, which I will hope will use the technology to allow patients to collaborate with their healthcare team more easily and more seamlessly and in a way that’s safe and secure

Changing the Lens: Bringing Medical Records to the Patient Bedside

October 10, 2017/in PEN Blog /by Grace Cordovano

Editor’s Note: This blog was originally featured here as a guest blog for The Beryl Institute.

A patient was recently discharged from an exceptional hospital after a 2-day stay. During those 2 days, he saw endless doctors, attendings, residents, fellows, interns, nurses, nurse practitioners, nursing students, TV and phone service staff, physical therapists, social workers, case managers, housekeeping staff, spiritual chaplains, food and beverage staff, transport staff and discharge planners. Forgive me if I’ve missed anyone. All of these hospital employees play an essential role in a patient’s care at the hospital. There was just one person missing: someone from the medical records department. It’s time to change the lens we are using to view the importance of medical records to patient success and health.

No one visited the patient to discuss the importance of having a copy of his medical records post-discharge and maintaining a personal medical history file. No one verified authorization for the release of medical records. No one asked what medical records the patient needed upon discharge. No one confirmed what doctors needed a copy of the patient’s medical records: like his primary care doctor, his cardiologist or his neurologist. There wasn’t a single person that walked through the revolving door of the patient’s room that mentioned anything that resembled “medical records”. As a private patient advocate, this is no surprise. I’ve accompanied clients to my fair share of hospitals, medical facilities and cancer centers. I’ve yet to see a medical records representative visit with a patient during their time at the hospital. Electronic Health Records (EHR) are not the answer as they weren’t designed with the patient as the priority. Patient portals, if a facility has them, aren’t effectively adopted or utilized and have many shortcomings.

Here’s what should be happening at hospitals. A medical records representative should visit patients in the hospital with a smart tablet. The representative should discuss a patient’s care goals and discuss care coordination with respect to medical records. Medical record authorizations should be pulled up on the smart tablet and patients should be able to electronically authorize releases from their bed. At minimum, the medical records representative should verify the contact information of doctors that should be receiving a copy of medical records for follow-up. All doctors who regularly treat the patient need to have a copy of the medical records for seamless communication, coordination of care, and patient success post-discharge. At discharge, patients should at least receive a copy of every test performed during their stay at the hospital. There is absolutely no reason any patient should be discharged without a basic copy of their records. None. Release authorizations and strategic planning of the use of records for patient success need to be done at the bedside while the patient is in the hospital. Medical record acquisition needs to become an active part of the discharge process, not a hunt thereafter. Let’s stop this insanity of needing to walk to the medical records office, usually in the basement of a different building than where the patient’s room is, to fill out a form or print one online and mail or fax it. We need to bring the medical records department to the patient’s room while they are in the hospital’s care: a simple change with potential for profound, patient-centric results.

Grace Cordovano

Grace Cordovano PhD, founder of Enlightening Results, is dedicated to fostering private, personalized patient advocacy services, specializing in the cancer space. She is a firm believer in the continuous advancement and improvement of patient experiences through the infusion of empathic design and thinking into current healthcare paradigms. Follow her on Twitter @GraceCordovano.